A Cuban woman deported from the United States, who resides in Cancun, Mexico, shared a video on TikTok on Monday showing the moment she says goodbye to her three children, who are returning to Houston, Texas, after a two-month visit. The woman, identified on the platform as Yadi (@yadicool6), filmed the farewell at Cancun International Airport with a broken heart, according to her own words.
"Nobody is prepared for this moment... After two months, I say goodbye to my children. No family should have to experience a separation like this," Yadi wrote in the video description.
In the images, the woman hugs each of her children —Catherine, Jonathan, and Emily— before they pass through customs and immigration, the point where she can no longer accompany them.
"Here is where customs is, where you need to separate, and immigration. I can't go any further from here," he recounts in the recording.
Yadi describes the moment as "the greatest pain that can exist" and insists that she almost fainted from the anguish while running through the terminal to find her children, to the extent that someone offered to call a doctor, help that she declined.
Before the separation, the family had to empty their suitcases at the airport because they were charged 500 dollars in excess baggage fees.
"This should not exist," Yadi says in the video, referring to these separations. "It's not fair for a mother and her children to be separated."
This video is the opposite side of a reunion that took place two months ago. The emotional reunion of Yadi with her children in Cancun occurred on June 5, 2026, after 11 months of separation since her deportation, when the minors traveled from Houston to visit her. Now, at the end of that visit, the children return to the U.S. and Yadi is once again left alone in Mexico.
Cancún has become a meeting point for families divided by deportations: children with U.S. documents can travel there as tourists, but the deported mother cannot cross back into U.S. territory.
The case of Yadi is part of a broader migration crisis. According to a report from Human Rights Watch published in May 2026, between January 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026, the U.S. deported almost 13,000 nationals from third countries to Mexico, with Cubans being the largest group at 4,353 individuals. Of those Cubans, 26% had no criminal record in the U.S.
Many of these deportees find themselves in a legal limbo in Mexico: without valid documents, without work permits, and with no clear path to regularization, while Cuba also does not easily accept them back. Testimonies from Cubans stranded in Mexico describe conditions of extreme vulnerability in cities like Cancun, where specialized shelters are insufficient.
Yadi recorded the video, as she explained, so that people can see the reality of these separations and to raise awareness about the many families facing similar situations.
"I believe that children should be with you," she concludes in the recording, addressing the parents who follow her on the platform.
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