A judge approved the bail of Félix Abreu Medina, a Cuban from Villa Clara who has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities for months, despite another judge having already approved his application for political asylum.
The decision paves the way for Abreu to regain his freedom while the appeals in his case continue, according to a report by Telemundo 51.
Abreu arrived in the United States with his wife on December 31, 2022, aboard a makeshift boat. The following day, he received an expedited deportation order, although he was released, and less than two months later, the couple began a political asylum process.
His situation changed in January 2026, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents arrested him while he was on his way to work in Marathon, in the Florida Keys.
The Cuban was taken into custody by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was initially transferred to a detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades, and later to the Broward Transitional Center.
Once detained, his defense filed for asylum with an immigration judge and obtained a favorable ruling.
"When he is brought to court, then we have to fight for political asylum, and we won it," explained his lawyer, Liliana Gómez.
However, Abreu was not released. According to the lawyer, the federal government reserved the right to appeal the granting of asylum, and that decision kept the immigration process open.
"Basically, the response we received from ICE and the judge was that, since the government reserved its right to appeal the asylum approval, they were going to keep him detained," said Gómez.
The defense then filed a petition for habeas corpus before a federal court in the Middle District of Florida. The motion was granted, and Abreu was ordered to receive a bail hearing or be released within ten days.
That process culminated this Thursday in the approval of his bail, after months of uncertainty for his family.
His wife, who spoke with Telemundo 51 without revealing her identity for fear of consequences related to her own immigration situation, summed up the anguish experienced during these months as follows: "The waiting period has been more difficult than the journey on the raft."
"I draw strength from nowhere, resources from nowhere, I achieve it, and yet they still don't want to give him his freedom," he added.
CBP confirmed to Telemundo 51 that Abreu did not have a regular immigration status, although it did not explain to the outlet why he remained in detention after a judge approved his asylum request.
The case is not yet closed. The government has appealed the granting of asylum, while Abreu's defense is pursuing another appeal related to the denial of his residency.
The situation of the native from the province of Villa Clara is occurring amidst a significant increase in the detention of Cuban migrants by ICE. According to data cited by the Cato Institute, arrests of Cubans rose by 463% between October 2024 and early 2026, increasing from fewer than 200 to more than 1,000 per month.
Although the approval of the bail brings Abreu closer to the possibility of reuniting with his family, his wife acknowledges that the uncertainty has not disappeared.
"I still fear that he will go out, try to reintegrate into his work and social life, and get arrested again," she confessed.
El caso de Félix Abreu refleja las complejidades del sistema migratorio estadounidense. Sigue de cerca todos los desarrollos sobre asilo, detenciones y deportaciones en nuestra sección de
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