A Cuban permanent resident in the United States recounted the fear she experienced alongside her husband upon returning from Cuba, after immigration agents at Miami International Airport sent the man for a secondary inspection, commonly referred to among Cubans as "el cuartico."
Yamyjavi Caldes shared in a video posted on Facebook that it all started when she and her husband, Javier, separated from the passenger line of their flight to use the restroom and ended up in another line at immigration control.
From there, they watched as two Cubans who had traveled on the same plane were taken for additional screening, which heightened their concern.
"We were scared, even though we are residents, that I have already been in this country for almost five years, and my husband for twelve. We thought it could happen to us," she confessed.
When it was their turn, an officer asked them where they were coming from, the purpose of their trip, and if they were carrying drugs, tobacco, or alcohol.
Although Yamyjavi was immediately returned her passport and residence card, her husband had his passport withheld, they filled out a form, and another agent was called, who escorted them to the secondary inspection area, to which she apparently went voluntarily.
The couple feared that there might be an issue with Javier's immigration status, but the review turned out to be much shorter than they had anticipated.
According to what he explained, the agent only asked her husband where he lived and what the last four digits of his Social Security number were.
When asked if he had the document with him, Javier replied that he did not, although he offered to recite the full number from memory.
After approximately five minutes of checks on a computer, the officer returned the documents and sent them off with a "Welcome to Miami."
Although they were eventually able to enter the United States, Yamyjavi wanted to share their experience to alert other Cuban residents planning to travel abroad.
“Gentlemen, they are checking that your residency is in order, that you do not have any issues in the country, and they are not concerned about how long you have been here, because note that he has been here for 12 years,” he stated, according to his interpretation of what happened.
The woman insisted that travelers must be aware of their immigration status before leaving the United States, especially if they have a criminal record or pending legal proceedings.
The experience brings to mind other episodes reported by Cubans at Miami airport. In July, the influencer La Damosky shared that she was held for nearly three hours, subjected to several interrogations and temporarily stripped of her documents while agents reviewed her travels.
In August 2025, a couple of Cuban residents was sent for secondary inspection after returning from Cuba and, according to the testimony released at that time, they received a summons to appear before an immigration judge.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can send travelers for a secondary inspection to verify documents, clarify information, or conduct additional checks, even without any suspicion of a violation.
Therefore, being sent to the "cuartico" does not necessarily mean that there is a migration problem or that the person is going to lose their permanent residency, as demonstrated by the experience shared by Yamyjavi and her husband.
Los controles migratorios en aeropuertos y fronteras siguen generando incertidumbre para muchos residentes. Mantente informado sobre todo lo que ocurre en y conoce tus derechos antes de viajar.
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