• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 04 / 21 / 2011

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Cubans and others facing deportation must travel further to do regular check-ins with federal authorities.By ALFONSO CHARDY.achardy.ElNuevoHerald.com. Like thousands of other Cuban exiles facing deportation, Mauricio Suarez has had to report his whereabouts regularly to federal immigration authorities.

An official would come to his Miami home once a month to personally verify that Suarez was living there. It was convenient for Suarez, 55, to comply with his supervised release requirement since he suffers from a liver disease that makes it difficult to travel long distances.

That convenience has ended.

As of last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) changed the way thousands of Cubans facing deportation comply with immigration rules. ICE now requires Miami residents to travel across county lines to a Miramar office the check in.

For those like Suarez who are ill or have no vehicle or relatives to drive them, the long trek to Miramar appears impossible.

“If I had to go there once a year, for example, that would be doable,’’ Suarez said in an interview at his home in Little Havana on Tuesday. “But if they want me to go there every month or more frequently, it’s going to be a major problem.’’

ICE would not discuss Suarez’s case, but did confirm that foreign nationals with deportation orders but not in detention must now report to Miramar. Before, they had to report their whereabouts at an old immigration building at 79th Street and Biscayne Boulevard. In September 2008, ICE began relocating its case management unit from Biscayne Boulevard to the Krome detention center.

Then, in March 2011, ICE moved its case management unit moved again to the Miramar office. Presently, Krome serves detainees. Miramar serves non-detained deportees.

Suarez’ troubles began in 2001 when he was accused of stealing thousands of dollars in rent money from a building he administered.

Though he denied the charge and wanted to go to trial, Suarez said his attorney ultimately convinced him to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.

By pleading guilty, Suarez, who has been in the United States since 1960, became a target for deportation. Immigration law mandates that foreign nationals convicted of aggravated felonies be put in deportation proceedings.

Though more than 30,000 Cuban exiles have been ordered deported from the United States, fewer than 3,000 actually have been removed since the 1980s.

The Cubans who have been deported are mostly Mariel refugees who arrived during the 1980 boatlift. Under an agreement between the Cuban government and the Reagan administration in 1984, some 2,740 Mariel Cubans can be removed. Less than 900 Mariel Cubans remain to be deported.

Cubans are ordered deported largely for the same reasons as other foreign nationals in the United States, when they are convicted of a crime.

Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC) is reviewing Suarez’ case. Oscar Alvarez, a FIAC staffer, publicized the case in hopes to persuading ICE to be more lenient in reporting requirements for immigrants like Suarez who have illnesses, are disabled or have difficulty finding transportation for long trips beyond Miami-Dade.

Many of these immigrants have no car and travel mainly on bicycles or by bus.

How often Suarez may have to report to Miramar remains to be seen. His first appointment there is now set for 9 a.m. on May 11.

“I imagine they’ll let me know that day how often I will have to report,’’ he said.

Source: //www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/20/2177817/