The Cuban influencer Kristoff Kriollo recounted in a video posted on his YouTube channel how agents from the Border Patrol (CBP) intercepted the vehicle in which he was traveling with his cameraman Leonis while they were filming content in the Florida Keys, and how the encounter nearly resulted in the detention of his companion.
The incident occurred on the second day of their visit to Cayo Hueso, where they had traveled to record content alongside Leonis, among other locations, at the Havana Cabana hotel.
“Today we were stopped by ICE. It's not actually ICE because it's another entity similar to ICE, which they call Border Patrol. The two are very alike because both control illegal immigration in the United States, and we went through the scare of our lives,” he recounted.
Kristoff's situation was resolved quickly as he is a permanent resident in the United States, although the influencer admitted to a detail that could have complicated the meeting:
"A person tells me: 'I know that you are a resident.' I give them my license. In fact, my green card, my residency card, has been lost."
One of the agents recognized him before finishing the checks and joked about his connection with the Cuban presenter Alexander Otaola.
During the conversation, another well-known Cuban creator, Jorge Miyar, El Gussi, also came up.
According to Kristoff's account, one of the agents made comments about the influencer, known for his criticism of the enforcement of U.S. immigration policies, and even referred to him as a “singao”.
The most tense moment: The I-220A from Leonis
The most critical part of the meeting revolved around the cameraman's immigration status.
Leonis has an I-220A form —a conditional release order that does not, on its own, provide a definitive immigration status nor is equivalent to a parole— and does not have a cut-off date assigned in their immigration process.
According to Kristoff, the agent was direct: “He said to him: ‘No, I’m not asking if you have a work permit. I’m asking about your status. I-220A, what are you?’ And he said: ‘Yes, I am I-220A’.”
What happened next raised all the alarms: “He asks her if there was a cutoff date, and Leonis tells her that there was no cutoff date. He told her that he had to take it, that normally he had to take it because there was no cutoff date.”
The influencer interpreted that warning as a sign of the situation facing migrants in the area: "It seems they are taking people who don't have a cutoff date. Or they're simply taking everyone."
The statement reflects Kristoff's interpretation of what happened during that meeting and does not, on its own, imply that there is a general CBP policy to automatically detain all individuals with an I-220A who lack a cut-off date.
The agent exercised discretion and let them go
Leonis was finally not arrested. The officer decided not to take more severe actions and allowed them to continue, something Kristoff publicly expressed gratitude for
"If by any chance the officer who stopped us sees this, we thank him from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you very much for the favor he did for us, because, well, he is doing his job. It may seem trivial, but it could have changed the lives of many people."
The outcome contrasts with other recent cases of Cubans with I-220A detained in the Keys, an area where the Key West Police reinstated its cooperation agreement with ICE in July 2025.
Warning to undocumented individuals and stance on arrests
After the scare, Kristoff issued a direct warning: “I advise all undocumented individuals not to come to the Keys to do anything, because it's boiling here. If you don't have papers, don't come to do absolutely anything here in the Keys. We had a tremendous scare.”
Regarding the immigration operations, he took a nuanced stance. "I do not agree with those arrests, to be honest," he stated, although he added that those with criminal backgrounds must face the appropriate consequences.
He also acknowledged: “I also do not feel I have the authority to criticize or attack that entity.”
The episode takes place against a backdrop of significant increases in migration actions in the United States: ICE set its monthly record in July 2026 with 49,571 arrests, while the detention of Cubans rose by 463% from October 2024 to January 2026.
"Everything is the fault of the Cuban dictatorship."
Kristoff reserved his most pointed reflection to highlight what he believes is the root of the problem.
"Half of my family is I-220A. I wouldn't want anything to happen," he confessed, before directly blaming the Cuban dictatorship for the situation many migrants are facing.
“Before all of that, I place the blame on the Cuban dictatorship, because it's because of them that we are here. It's because of them that we are going through these scares, these processes, starting over, leaving a country, undertaking journeys. It’s all the fault of the Cuban dictatorship. Before any political party, before anything else in the United States, that's how I see it,” he concluded.
The creator also announced that he would leave a petition in the first comment of his video to request the application of the Cuban Adjustment Act to individuals with I-220A, a document that keeps thousands of Cubans in legal limbo, without a cut-off date or a definitive immigration status.
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