Leidys Barrabí, a 25-year-old Cuban mother who built her own beauty business in Miami, shared again this week on Instagram the video that went viral in June, posting it from her salon Heaven's SPA BY Leidys.
The original video, in which Barrabí announced with a trembling voice that she had received the order, became one of the most visible testimonies of the migration crisis affecting Cubans with an I-220A form. In that recording, the young woman summarized her situation with a phrase that resonated among thousands of followers: “I am a 25-year-old Cuban mother who arrived in this country four years ago, filled with dreams and the desire to succeed. Today, after years of sacrifice, of building my business from scratch, of creating a successful salon here in Miami and establishing a stable life for my daughter and family, I received this news.”
Barrabí arrived in the United States in 2022 after a journey that began in Nicaragua, carrying over $10,000 in debt and, in his own words, "a backpack full of dreams." He began working in someone else's salon, then rented a small space, later set up a studio at home, and finally succeeded in opening his own business.
El caso de Leidys es uno de los muchos que reflejan la compleja situación migratoria que enfrentan los cubanos en Estados Unidos. Sigue todos los desarrollos en nuestra sección de
"I worked more than 14 hours a day for years, without weekends, vacations, or a social life, because I had a very clear goal: to save enough money to fulfill my dream of opening my own beauty salon," she recounted in a July post.
Upon entering the country, like thousands of Cubans at that time, he received an I-220A form — a supervised release order issued by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — which is not equivalent to a parole or a formal admission, preventing him from automatically benefiting from the Cuban Adjustment Act. His husband, also holding an I-220A, shares a similar legal situation. Furthermore, Barrabí's mother also received a deportation order.
The order would be sent to Ecuador, a country with which the young woman claims to have no connection. Since November 2025, Ecuador has operated as a deportation destination for Cubans under a cooperation agreement with the U.S. government, given that Cuba refuses to accept those who have been outside the country since before 2017.
His case is currently on appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) following the rejection of an initial petition in September. The appeal itself does not automatically suspend deportation, leaving Barrabí in a state of ongoing uncertainty while he continues to run his business.
The situation faced is not unusual: the arrests of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between October 2024 and January 2026, there are over 42,000 Cubans with active deportation orders in the United States, and in the first five months of this year, 612 were deported in 18 different operations.
Despite everything, Barrabí maintains a tone of hope in his posts and asks his followers for messages of encouragement. "I still believe that God is in control of my life and I will keep fighting harder than ever. Because there is something greater than my fears: the desire to move forward and to build a better future for my daughter and my family," he stated in the video that circulated again this week.
The immigration courts in Miami have expedited hearings that were scheduled for 2028 and 2029, which dramatically reduces the preparation time for cases of Cubans like Barrabí, whose future in the country he chose to raise his daughter remains unresolved.
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