A 49-year-old Cuban who had a final deportation order since 2002 was arrested in Miami-Dade, accused of fatally shooting a man during a dispute allegedly motivated by jealousy.
William Serrano Domenech faces charges of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the death of Raúl Aballe, which occurred on August 17, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday.
The shooting occurred around 5:38 p.m. in the area of Northwest 38th Street in Brownsville. According to authorities, Serrano Domenech repeatedly struck Aballe during an argument, pulled out a gun, and shot him in the abdomen before fleeing.
The victim was taken to a hospital, where they died from their injuries.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office arrested the suspect in the early hours of August 20. According to investigators, Serrano Domenech admitted to having fired shots and cited jealousy over Aballe's relationship with someone present at the scene as the motive for the confrontation.
A friend of the victim who witnessed the dispute and attempted to intervene told NBC6 that the relationship between the two men had already been tense.
"Please, we need to find this killer and the gun violence has to stop," he stated before the arrest was announced.
He had been under a deportation order for 24 years
The case took on a migratory dimension after the DHS revealed that a judge had ordered the deportation of Serrano Domenech on February 20, 2002.
Despite that order, the Cuban remained in the United States. ICE re-detained him in December 2023, but he was later released during the Joe Biden administration, according to the version provided by the DHS.
Following his recent arrest, ICE filed a request for immigration detention with the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center to have the suspect turned over to immigration authorities if he is eligible for release from criminal custody.
Serrano Domenech claims that he entered the United States through Florida in August 1995, meaning he has been in the country for over three decades.
A lengthy criminal record
According to the DHS, the accused has a record of prior offenses and arrests in Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, and Tennessee.
In Florida, he has a conviction related to weapons and arrests for vehicle theft and breaking and entering. In Michigan, he was convicted of drug-related offenses, including cocaine distribution and possession of weapons during a drug crime.
He was also arrested in New Mexico for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and bribery of a witness, while in Tennessee he has a record for illegal possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.
The DHS Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, directly blamed the Biden administration for having released the Cuban in 2023.
"This dangerous criminal should never have been in our country, and if it hadn't been for the Biden administration releasing him from ICE custody in 2023, Raúl Aballe would still be alive," he stated.
Mullin added that ICE will work with Florida authorities to ensure that Serrano Domenech "never returns to the streets."
The Cuban is charged with second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm. The charges will now be resolved in the judicial process.
His arrest occurs amid an intensification of immigration operations in South Florida. Between August 2025 and August 23, 2026, 131 of the 451 people arrested by ICE in the city of Miami under collaboration agreements with local authorities were Cuban, the nationality with the highest number of detentions during that period.
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