The Cuban-American lawyer Willy Allen revealed this Monday, during his weekly program with journalist Tania Costa, that August 15 will mark 65 years since he first set foot on U.S. soil. "In a few days, it will be my anniversary of arriving in the American empire. I arrived here on August 15, 1961, so it’s 65 years in the empire. I flew with KLM, the Dutch airline," Allen stated at the beginning of the broadcast.
It was the first Monday of August 2026, and Allen, in a relaxed tone, opened the program with that personal memory before addressing the day's immigration topics. According to Diario Las Américas, Allen was about ten years old when he arrived in Miami with his mother, his brother, and two cousins; the family settled in a small studio in South Beach, and his first job was cleaning shoes at a hotel in Miami Beach.
The conversation shifted to her connection with the NGO World Relief, after a viewer sent Tania Costa a link to a documentary about the organization and its work with Cuban rafters in Guantánamo. Allen clarified that he collaborated with the entity during the Mariel exodus in 1980 and during the rafters' crisis in 1994, but he had never been a formal employee.
"I have worked with World Relief, I have helped them, not always, but I assisted them during the Mariel and in Guantánamo," he clarified. Regarding the Mariel, he recalled Tom Willis as one of the local directors of the NGO at that time, describing him as "a great person, a wonderful person."
Regarding his presence at the Guantanamo Naval Base, Allen was emphatic in distinguishing his role from that of the humanitarian organization. "I never worked for the NGO. I have collaborated with them, I have participated in some of their activities, but I have never been an employee of theirs. No, I went to Guantanamo as the lawyer for Guarione Díaz and the lawyer for Siro del Castillo, and as the lawyer for Willy Chirino," he explained.
Guarione Díaz, whom Allen described as "a great friend of mine" who "is still alive," was the civilian director of the camp, known in Miami as "the chief." Siro del Castillo, now deceased, held the second position in the camp's structure. The artist Willy Chirino sang to the Cuban rafters in Guantánamo, in 1994, in a gesture that became a symbol of the exile community's support for the newcomers.
Regarding World Relief, Allen emphasized its reach and efficiency. "World Relief has a connection with the Protestant church and has always been very, very efficient worldwide, and they continue to work globally."
The lawyer proudly recounted his role in that historic period. "At that time, I was the lawyer for all three, and I went in with my law degree from Little Havana. And that's no small feat."
This biographical excerpt served as the introduction to the program of the first Monday in August, before Allen addressed the main topic of the day: the new rule proposed by the Trump administration that would allow immigration judges to impose fines ranging from $1,000 to $3,500 on immigrants, defense attorneys, and witnesses for contempt, a measure that the lawyer believes lacks a legal basis and is designed to intimidate.
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