Alexis Malagón, a Cuban who entered the United States in 2014 with parole and had a work permit valid until 2029, has been held for over a year in an immigration detention center in Oklahoma without having faced 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 told him to follow him to the weigh station, and when he arrived at the weigh station, ICE was there, asked for his documents, and took him into custody."
Malagón was first moved to the Eden Detention Center in Texas, and then to the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma, a private center operated by CoreCivic that reopened as an immigration facility in December 2025 and has a capacity of approximately 2,160 people.
From there, he spoke via video call with the media: "I have currently been detained for one year and 18 days," he said. Regarding his case, he was succinct: "I remain stuck."
His case has three open fronts: a denied asylum request 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 filed in March before the Northern District of Texas Court, also without resolution; and two denied bail requests.
The second request was denied due to flight risk, although the judge did not consider it a danger to the community.
Malagón reports that the conditions of his confinement hinder his defense: "I have many obstacles against me in seeking the proof, the evidence that is being requested."
It has also pointed out issues with food, particularly "the scarcity of food related to protein," complaints that align with reports from civil rights organizations regarding the conditions at Diamondback.
The blow to the family has been double. 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 stop working." 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 was the one who did everything; when there was no driver, he would drive, 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 a valid work permit 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 widespread tightening against Cubans with parole. The BIA issued a binding decision that raises the standard for obtaining bail in immigration cases at the beginning of October, now requiring sponsors to submit an affidavit, proof of income, and verifiable documentation of their relationship with the detained individual. This resolution, known as Matter of M-S-V-, is mandatory for all immigration judges throughout the country.
In parallel, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether ICE can keep certain immigrants detained without a bail hearing who are already within U.S. territory, a matter that directly impacts cases like that of Malagón.
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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