A Cuban resident in Miami shared on Tuesday on TikTok his experience after attending his third and final hearing in an immigration court with I-220A status: the judge dismissed his request for residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act and issued a deportation order without allowing him to present his political asylum case.
Alexander Martínez Sarmiento reported that the judge only asked yes or no questions before making his decision, without giving the floor to his lawyer, who had prepared the case file in record time.
"The judge dismissed the residency petition we filed with the court, and just when we thought he would allow us to defend our political asylum, he didn't even let us speak. He only asked yes or no questions, dismissed the case, and issued a deportation order," he explained in the video.
What frustrated Martínez Sarmiento the most was not the decision itself, but the time and money invested in a process whose outcome, he claims, had already been determined in advance.
"The judge's decision doesn't really bother me; what bothers me is why you're wasting my time and money," he stated, adding, "If you already know the decision you're going to make, why not just send me the deportation letter by mail and be done with it?"
The Cuban detailed that the application for residency cost him $3,000, plus over $1,000 in appeals, not including his lawyer's fees.
The situation became even more complicated as the court date was moved up from 2027 to 2026 with only a month's notice, forcing their legal representative to prepare over 200 motions in record time for the documents to be accepted.
"My lawyer worked herself to death preparing the case quickly because they changed my court date; it was set for 2027 and they moved it to 2026, and they notified me just a month in advance," she recounted.
The testimony reflects a reality that affects hundreds of Cubans with I-220A in 2026: immigration courts have massively advanced hearings that were scheduled for 2028 or 2029, moving them up to June and July of this year, leaving migrants with little time to prepare their defense.
The I-220A is a form of supervision release from ICE that does not equate to parole or a formal admission to the country, which prevents its holders from automatically accessing the Cuban Adjustment Act. Martínez Sarmiento recalled that since he crossed the border, the ICE officer himself warned him: "This paper we are giving you is an order of expulsion from the country, but we are going to release you on your own recognizance."
The author of the video clarified that the deportation order can be appealed, which extends the process and allows for a longer stay in the United States, though he warned his compatriots not to get their hopes up.
"The immigration courts are not governed by the law; they are governed by money, plain and simple: the more money you spend, the more it benefits them," he declared.
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