Detainment of I-220A Migrants with Children: Immigration Attorney Offers Guidance

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to detain individuals holding the I-220A form, even when these individuals are mothers with young children and have no criminal records.

Immigration attorney Liudmila Marcelo shared insights with Tania Costa during an interview for CiberCuba, explaining the options available to those summoned to report and the potential consequences of failing to appear.

A case highlighting the severity of these detentions is that of Tania Romero Naranjo, a 24-year-old Cuban woman who was apprehended by ICE on June 26 in Portland, Texas, during a routine supervision appointment. Her three-year-old son, a U.S. citizen, was left in the care of his father, Javier Díaz.

Marcelo pointed out that such detentions are predominantly occurring in Texas, with incidents reported almost daily. "These situations almost always happen in San Antonio, Houston, or El Paso," she noted.

The Texas-Florida Contrast in ICE Operations

In contrast to Texas, Marcelo described the ICE office in Miramar, South Florida, as relatively calm. "Miramar has been quite peaceful lately. While I can't guarantee 100%, compared to Texas, it's significantly different. There, they detain people almost every day," she explained.

Despite this, Marcelo stressed that no I-220A holder can predict the outcome of their reporting appointment: "There's definitely nothing that can assure you if you'll have a good or bad outcome on the day of your report."

Obligations and Risks at ICE Appointments

When asked what someone should do if they receive an ICE summons, Marcelo was unequivocal: there is no room for skipping the appointment. "You can't do anything because if you don't attend your reporting appointment, unless you have a strong medical excuse, you're violating the conditions of your parole, because the I-220A means being free under parole," she explained.

Missing the appointment strengthens ICE's position: "If you fail to comply, then they have a stronger reason to detain you, even if they were likely to do so anyway."

Should detention occur, the process becomes significantly more complicated.

According to Marcelo, the detained individual must first request a bond hearing to determine eligibility for release. If that option fails, they must defend their asylum case while in custody, and should they lose, the appeal must also be handled while detained.

Questioning the Logic Behind Detentions

Marcelo openly questioned the rationale behind these detentions: "What is the need to detain someone who has young children, a woman who hasn't committed any crimes, when there are others who may have violated the terms of their release under parole?"

It's important to note that having a U.S. citizen child doesn't automatically protect parents from deportation; the child can only petition for their parents' residency once they turn 21.

Marcelo also discussed the situation of CBP One holders, outlining three different scenarios. The most favorable involves those who have already applied for residency and whose judge has closed the court, allowing them to wait calmly for approval. A second group has applied for residency but the judge hasn't closed the case until it's received, leaving them waiting for a final court date.

The third scenario is the most dire: "The worst situation involves those with judges who have demanded asylum and now face an upcoming final court date, without having received residency, and the judge refuses to close the court. Now they must defend their asylum case while on parole." This happens because the judge lacks jurisdiction to process residency directly, a situation Marcelo notes is particularly common in Texas.

Between 400,000 and 500,000 Cubans remain in the U.S. under the I-220A form, living in immigration limbo, as ICE detentions of Cubans increased by 463% between late 2024 and early 2026.