The relatives of two Cubans detained on Tuesday, October 13, during a Coast Guard inspection in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, dispute the account given by U.S. authorities. They assert that both young men had pending asylum requests and possessed immigration documentation, while the Coast Guard claims that their petitions had been denied.
The detention of the two Cubans took place during a security inspection of a Bayliner boat with a Yamaha engine.
The journalist Javier Díaz from Univision 23 published a report on Saturday, October 17, featuring statements from the families, who identified the detainees as Jorge Marlon Arcelo Paula, 28 years old, and his cousin Junior López Rodríguez, 26. According to their relatives, both possess I-220A documents.
Neither the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nor the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had publicly confirmed, up to the time of the report, the identities of the detainees or the exact status of their immigration cases.
The family claims that the asylum cases remain pending
The family members visited Univision to seek assistance and question the information disclosed by the authorities. They explained that none of the young individuals had received a rejection notice for their asylum application.
"They have never received any notification that it was denied," declared Jorge Marlon's aunt to the journalist.
The same source reported that the detainees had no prior offenses.
"He has never had a ticket, he has never had anything on his record, everything is perfectly clean," he stated.
Marlon's aunt explained that both of them used to go fishing and that, to her knowledge, they stayed within U.S. waters. The family maintains that the boat outing was a regular recreational activity and not an attempt to cross a border.
What did the Coast Guard report?
The U.S. Coast Guard, through its Southeast District, reported the operation in X on October 15, two days after the arrest. In its communication, it did not reveal the names of those involved nor specify whether the vessel was in international waters during the inspection.
According to the statement, a crew from the Coast Guard Station in Islamorada identified during a safety inspection two Cuban nationals whose asylum requests had been denied and who were not legally authorized to remain in the United States.
Both were handed over to the Border Patrol for processing.
The official statement regarding the denial of asylum contradicts the testimony of the family members. The status of the files could not be established based on the documents available in the report.
Lawyer explains the potential immigration consequences
The immigration attorney Rosaly Chaviano, interviewed by Javier Díaz, explained that the Coast Guard has the authority to request documentation during inspections of vessels in U.S. waters.
The specialist noted that if a migratory situation requiring intervention by the relevant authorities is detected during one of these controls, the case may be referred to the Border Patrol.
"Chaviano commented on the immigration controls, saying, 'They may also have orders to check whether the person has a status or not.'"
The lawyer explained that the consequences for the detainees depend on the status of their cases and the existence of potential deportation orders.
"If that order is final, they can be deported to Cuba immediately if Cuba accepts them. If it is not final, then they can wait inside the detention center for the Board of Appeals to make a decision on that appeal, which can literally take months," he stated.
Chaviano also recommended taking extra precautions for those who have ongoing immigration processes.
“It is important for individuals, if they have an ongoing process and are not yet residents or American citizens, not to leave the country, even if it's just to go fishing,” he warned.
The warning does not imply that every recreational outing on a boat constitutes a departure from the United States. Navigating within U.S. waters does not, in itself, equate to leaving the national territory. The immigration consequences depend on the specifics of each individual case.
According to information released by family members, by the time the report was published, both young men were still being held at Border Patrol facilities in Miramar.
Other migration operations in Florida waters
The detention of the two young men occurred during a safety inspection of a recreational vessel, and not during a migration supervision appointment or a land control.
On that same Tuesday, October 13, the Coast Guard repatriated six people to Cuba following two maritime operations carried out on October 8 and 11.
On October 14, it was also reported the deportation to Cuba of a Cuban rescued off Key Biscayne.
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