The Cuban Antonio Frómeta Ascón, 63 years old, has been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over a year while U.S. authorities attempt to find a country that will accept him for deportation.
During that time, his first granddaughter was born, whom Frómeta has yet to meet.
"I haven't been able to meet or hug her. I need to be with them and not locked up here," he stated from the ICE Processing Center in El Paso, Texas, in a report published this Sunday by El Paso Matters.
Frómeta arrived in the United States in 1994 during the rafters' crisis. After spending some time at Guantánamo Naval Base, he was granted parole to enter the country, and over the next three decades, he lived in Florida, worked as a tree pruner, and started a family.
He was arrested on August 14, 2025, in West Palm Beach during Operation Tidal Wave, a joint initiative by state and federal authorities to apprehend immigrants with deportation orders.
His immigration situation carries decades of history. In 2002, he was sentenced to five years of probation for a charge of assault in Palm Beach, a sentence he completed. In 2008, he failed to appear at a immigration hearing, and a judge issued a deportation order in absentia.
According to El Paso Matters, ICE tried to deport him to Cuba in November 2025, but the Cuban authorities did not accept him.
Frómeta has also refused to be sent to Mexico, citing fear for his safety. "I am Cuban, not Mexican," he stated.
His prolonged detention reached the courts. In March, he filed a habeas corpus petition with the Federal Court for the Western District of Texas, questioning his continued imprisonment without the execution of his deportation.
The case refers to the precedent set by the Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), regarding the detention of immigrants with expulsion orders when their deportation cannot be executed. The decision established a six-month period deemed presumptively reasonable and determined that, after this period, if there are reasons to believe that expulsion is not significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future, the government must respond with evidence that contradicts that conclusion.
In July, according to the report, the government itself stated before the court that the timeline for executing Frómeta's deportation "is currently unknown."
His story also has another dimension: Frómeta claims to have witnessed the events that took place prior to the death of fellow Cuban Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55 years old, who died on January 3 while in ICE custody.
The El Paso County medical examiner determined that Lunas Campos died from asphyxiation caused by neck and torso compression and classified the death as homicide.
"They handcuffed him, and I saw them beating him as they took him away," Frometa recounted. "They killed him; there's no other way to put it."
Frómeta also reported that during his detention a guard punched him in one ear, causing hearing loss, and that he was later pressured to accept his deportation to Mexico.
While awaiting a decision regarding his situation, he claims that his health has deteriorated and that he has lost weight. His partner told the media that he is "desperate and very depressed."
In a handwritten letter dated August 14 and submitted to the court weeks later, Frómeta wrote: "I have been detained for a year and fifteen days. I appreciate your time, and God bless you. Please, free me."
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