The psychological pressure from months in a detention center leads some Cubans to consider abandoning their immigration process and accepting voluntary departure, but attorney John Dutton, from John Dutton Law PLLC, in Houston, Texas, warns that this decision has serious consequences and that returning to the United States is not guaranteed.
Dutton described in an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba the reality his firm faces with Cuban clients detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "We have clients of all kinds," but he specified that very few have requested voluntary departure.
Among their cases is a specific group of Cubans who entered in 2022 with 60-day humanitarian paroles, most of them without an assigned hearing date, who had begun their applications with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Although their Notices to Appear were marked in the second box—granting jurisdiction to the judges—they were arrested by ICE, and their residency applications were denied in court.
Dutton mentioned three specific cases from that group. One succumbed to exhaustion. "One of them decided not to fight anymore, decided they wanted to leave. We withdrew the appeal a few days ago." The other two remain active, and one recently recorded a victory before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA): "We have already received notification from the Board of Immigration Appeals that the case has been reopened, that the judge had no legal argument in what he said to deny this person's Cuban adjustment. And we're going back to court now."
The lawyer also shared another piece of good news: the Friday before the interview, his team succeeded in securing the release of a Cuban who had been detained since February in the Laredo jurisdiction, in South Texas. "I had personally lost a bit of hope, and the federal judge ordered immediate release," he recounted.
However, Dutton was firm in analyzing voluntary departure as an option. He acknowledged that some lawyers recommend it to avoid formal deportation, based on the belief that it allows for easier reentry into the country, but he rejected that interpretation: "It's not that simple either." Even those with pending family petitions will have to apply for waivers and undergo a consular process to be able to return. "I don't have much faith in it; while there is a legal path, it may work out for some, but I definitely don't think it will be easy to come back," he stated.
This warning takes on particular significance in light of documented cases where Cuba refused entry to Cubans who had requested voluntary departure from the United States, demonstrating that even leaving the country is not guaranteed.
Other lawyers have also publicly warned that Cubans with I-220A should never accept voluntary departure, a stance that aligns with Dutton's.
The underlying legal context is complex: the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned previous decisions by the BIA in February 2026 and sent cases of Cubans with I-220A for new review, without declaring automatic eligibility for residency. Meanwhile, ICE increased the detention of Cuban migrants by 463% between October 2024 and April 2026, intensifying pressure on those with active processes.
"Sometimes not everyone responds the same way to the pressure of waiting for a process," Dutton acknowledged, who nevertheless insisted that the law supports his clients: "There is only one law, and it is on our side."
Las decisiones que toman los cubanos detenidos por ICE pueden marcar su futuro en EE.UU. para siempre. Sigue toda la información sobre este y otros temas relacionados en nuestra sección de
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