Cuban Grandma Gets Deportation Order After 30 Years in USA
She worked 27 years at the University of Tampa and fears being sent to a third country because her Cuban passport is expired.
HAVANA TIMES – Yelenis Perez, a 63-year-old Cuban woman living in Florida, is facing a deportation order issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after having lived in the United States for three decades and working 27 years at the University of Tampa. The decision, which came as a surprise to her family and workplace, was communicated during her last immigration appointment on July 14.
Perez was under C18 immigration status, a category that allows supervised stay in the US despite having a final deportation order, as long as immediate removal is not viable. However, according to Noticias Tampa Hoy, this time the ICE official informed her that she must leave the country within 90 days.
“Since that day I haven’t been the same. My life has completely changed,” the Cuban woman said tearfully in an interview with local media. “I’ve never done anything wrong, I’ve always complied. They can check my paperwork, my record. I’ve been 100% honest with my case.”
One of the main obstacles she now faces is the renewal of her expired Cuban passport. According to her, the Cuban consulate informed her that the process could take months. Additionally, as of April 1, 2025, the Cuban government no longer allows citizens with expired passports to enter the country, which places Perez in an immigration limbo.
“My fear is that Cuba won’t accept me, and then ICE will decide which country to send me to. That’s what I don’t want,” she said. If she is unable to renew her document within the set timeframe, immigration authorities could consider deporting her to a third country. Recently, two Cuban migrants lost their appeal in the US and were ultimately deported to South Sudan.
Perez has publicly asked the Trump administration to reconsider her case. “I want to stay in this country because I have my children here. What will happen to them without me?” she said, referring to her family in Florida, which also includes her husband and grandchildren.
The case has sparked a wave of reactions on social media and among immigrant rights advocates, who are calling for a humanitarian review. Meanwhile, the uncertainty continues to grow for Perez.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted by Havana Times.
In reply to above comment- I do not agree-yes 80% of republicans may want to remove people. However there are 48% republicans in the US. So your numbers do not add up. You meant 80% of less than 1/2 of Americans.
(See pew research and border reports)
The majority of dems and independent voters want humane treatment for all humans. It is in our Declaration of Independence that all people have the right to life liberty and pursuit of happiness. It is our constitution (read 4th amendment) that these deportations are not legal.
I would hate for readers of these comments to believe that such opinions represent all of USA. Because they don’t.
My question regarding this story is….If she was in the USA for 30 years why did she not apply to become a citizen? Immigrants aren’t in the US on ‘Golden Tickets’. 30 years is more than enough time to get the proper paperwork for family reunification or citizenship. Something seems to be missing from this story.
This is yet another example, albeit very sad, of FAFO. I remember several viral videos last year of Cubans singing jingles extolling the candidacy of Donald Trump. Every Sunday, last October 2024, there were boat rallies on the Miami River where boats of all shapes and sizes were flying the Trump flag. Here’s the problem: I believe that many Cubans in the US think that they are better than other Latinos. This delusion caused them to think that somehow they would be exempted from Trump’s plan to deport brown people from “shithole” countries. Stephen Miller, a Trump adviser and his deportation “whisperer”, sees no difference between folks from Cuba and folks from Guatemala. To him, they all speak Spanish. Again, this is a sad story and being repeated all over the US. We tried to warn folks about Trump. Now they are finding out what we were talking about.
80% of Americans do not want open borders. 75% of Americans think it is fair to ask those who snuck in illegally to leave.
There is no human right to go and live in another country without going through their immigration process.
The people who snuck in know they did something wrong — that they are illegally in someone else’s country.
That woman in this article should consider herself lucky that she got to stay here so long.
The U.S. is developing a program to control immigration and to register those who came here illegally. Those who hide or the troublemakers will either get rejected or put at the back of the line — which is fair. Note: I love the Cuban people. They are a model ethnic group in this country, but those who are here illegally need to be registered or leave.
It seems brutal making some people leave but it is part of the necessary measures to control our borders, which 75-80% of Americans want. We will listen to foreigners (like the writers for Havana Times) about this issue, but they are hopelessly uninformed and their opinions are not very
important at all when it comes to running our country.