Yaima de las Mercedes Suárez, a Cuban mother of five and permanent resident of the United States, was released on Thursday after a judge granted her a pardon, ending six months of detention under the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as reported by Univision 23.
Yaima, 34 years old, was on the verge of being deported to a third country due to a criminal record from over a decade ago.
After leaving prison, he spoke with journalist Javier Díaz about his experience in the facility: "Horrible, horrible. There are good things, because I made some really good friends, but being without your children, being without your family, is horrible."
The woman was arrested on February 8 at Miami Airport upon returning from Cuba along with her three-year-old daughter. The trip had a family purpose: for the grandmother to meet the girl and to bring flowers to her father's grave, who passed away before she could say goodbye.
The legal trigger was a criminal record from 2013: when she was 21 years old and pregnant, she was accused of fuel theft and conspiracy along with four other individuals in Manatee County, Florida. According to her family, she pleaded guilty to avoid giving birth in prison. That record was activated upon re-entering the country.
Yaima's lawyer explained that the legal mechanism that caught her was not arbitrary: "Immigration checks her history and realizes that she had this offense that made her inadmissible to the United States, and they place her in this deportation process."
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, each re-entry into the country is considered a new admission application, which can reactivate criminal records that had not had consequences for years, even if the residency card was renewed.
While she was detained by ICE, her husband Yankiel Suárez took care of their five minor children, three of whom have autism.
During this time, the defense worked on several fronts throughout the six months of detention: it requested bail, arguing that Yaima was not subject to mandatory detention. A key limitation was that she had not accumulated the 15 years of residency required to apply for cancellation of removal.
Finally, the judge granted him a pardon that opened the door to his release, and his residency was not revoked.
The journalist Javier Díaz alerted all emigrants who are not yet American citizens in another video: "If you have a criminal record it is important, if you are still a permanent resident, contact a lawyer."
Detentions of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between October 2024 and January 2026, while approvals for permanent residency for Cubans fell by 99.8% during the same period.
Cuba is also on the list of countries deemed non-cooperative by ICE since December 2024, which increases scrutiny on those returning from the Island.
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