Alexis Malagón, a Cuban who entered the United States in 2014 with parole and had a valid work permit until 2029, has been detained for over a year in an immigration detention center in Oklahoma without facing any criminal charges, according to an investigation by Diario Las Américas published this Thursday.
The arrest occurred on September 9, 2025 while Malagón was driving his truck in Texas. His wife, Nayare Rodríguez, recounted what happened: “He was driving the truck when the sheriff stopped him and said to follow him to the weigh station, and when he got to the weigh station, ICE was there, asked for his documents, and took him away.”
Malagón was first transferred to the Eden Detention Center in Texas, and then to the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma, a privately operated center by CoreCivic that reopened as an immigration facility in December 2025 and has a capacity of around 2,160 people.
From there, he spoke via video call with the media: "Currently, I have been detained for a year and 18 days," he said. Regarding his case, he was brief: "I am still stuck."
His case has three open fronts: a denied asylum application that has been appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), with a motion to reopen the proceedings still pending; a federal habeas corpus petition submitted in March to the Northern District of Texas, also without resolution; and two denied bond requests.
The second was denied due to the risk of flight, although the judge did not consider it a danger to the community.
Malagón claims that the conditions of confinement hinder his defense: "I have many obstacles against me in trying to find the evidence and proof that they require."
It has also pointed out problems with the food supply, particularly "the scarcity of food in relation to protein," complaints that align with reports from civil rights organizations regarding the conditions at Diamondback.
The blow to the family has been twofold. Rodríguez, who lives in Miami, has not been able to visit him: "I haven't been able to go see him because he is very far away and I can't take time off work." And the company they had built together, NYA Transportation Inc., which operated interstate with three trucks and two vans, collapsed without him.
«He was the company's mechanic; he did everything. When there was no driver, he drove, and without him, everything fell apart,» he told Diario de las Américas. «We lost everything, everything, everything.»
Rodríguez assures that she did not anticipate the arrest because her husband had his work permit in order and, according to her, had no criminal record. "I didn't think he would have any repercussions from what was happening," she said.
"I really miss my husband a lot, because he was the pillar of the family, he was my everything, my everything," she concluded.
The case arises at a time of increased scrutiny against Cubans with parole. The BIA issued a binding decision that raises the standard for obtaining bail in immigration cases, now requiring sponsors to submit an affidavit, proof of income, and verifiable documentation of their relationship with the detainee. The resolution, known as Matter of M-S-V-, is mandatory for all immigration judges across the country.
In parallel, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether ICE can keep certain immigrants detained without a bail hearing who are already on U.S. soil, an issue that directly impacts cases like Malagón's.
El caso de Alexis Malagón refleja la incertidumbre que enfrentan miles de cubanos con estatus migratorio vigente en EE.UU. Sigue todos los desarrollos en nuestra sección de
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