The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the United States issued an official statement on Friday announcing that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a immigration detention order against Meliza Campos Sánchez, a 26-year-old Cuban who was arrested in Miami-Dade on charges of arson, child abuse, and negligence, following an incident in which she poured melted wax on one of her daughters and set her kitchen on fire.
According to the official statement from the DHS, the order was submitted to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami to prevent local authorities from releasing the accused before ICE can take her into federal custody.
"This illegal Cuban immigrant faces charges of child abuse and arson after pouring hot wax on one of her own children and then setting fire to her house," a DHS spokesperson stated.
"ICE has issued a detention order requesting Miami authorities not to release this criminal from jail. We will work with our partners in Florida to ensure that she is deported from the country once she faces justice."
The agency indicated that Campos Sánchez illegally entered the United States through Florida in May 2022 and used the statement to hold the Biden administration accountable for his presence in the country.
The incident occurred on Sunday, August 16, at a residence on block 4200 of Southwest 95th Avenue, when firefighters and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call about an intentional fire in the kitchen of the property.
Upon arrival, they found Campos Sánchez at the scene. According to the police report, he used a lighter to set fire to a piece of clothing soaked with a flammable liquid while his two daughters—aged three and six—remained inside the house. It was the older girl who extinguished the flames with a container of water.
The authorities also found two videos that the accused had posted on her Instagram account.
One showed her pouring melted wax first onto her own leg and then onto the hands of one of her daughters; the other showed her singing and dancing in the kitchen before setting her clothes on fire.
In one of those videos, while applying the hot wax, Campos Sánchez told his daughter, "The fears you are feeling today will be your strength tomorrow." The girl replied, "That burns."
After the arrest, Campos Sánchez was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation under Florida's Baker Act— a law that allows for involuntary hospitalization of up to 72 hours for individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others— before being admitted to jail on Monday, August 17.
A judge ordered his detention without bail and assigned him a public defender.
He faces charges of first-degree arson, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect.
His two daughters were placed under the custody of their father, Yusniel Cue, who stated that he had been separated from Meliza for about a week and was the one who alerted the authorities after receiving the video of the hot wax from friends of the accused.
ICE issued the immigration detention order the day after the arrest. The DHS categorized the case under the label "Miami Menace," which it uses in its statements to highlight cases of foreigners without legal status accused of serious crimes in that city.
The case occurs amid an intensification of ICE operations in southern Florida: the Miami office has recorded over 41,000 arrests since January 2025, making it the most active in the country, while arrests of Cubans have soared by 463% compared to the end of 2024.
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