Deported from Florida to Cuba: Mother loses daughter and American dream
Deported from Florida to Cuba: Mother loses daughter and American dream
in a dilapidated house on the outskirts of Havana, Heidy Sánchez shows photos from her previous life. On her iPhone she leaves through pictures of visits to Sea World with her husband and 17-month-old daughter as well as the couple who dressed in Santa Claus costumes for Christmas. "I don't know if it was the American dream," said Sánchez. "But it was my dream, my family."
The separation of family and home
This dream and her family were brutally torn apart at the end of April when Sánchez was deported from Florida to Cuba, although both her daughter and her husband are US citizens. Sánchez entered the USA in 2019 when the first Trump administration asked of asylum seekers to wait on the other side of the border to their immigration dates must, as part of the “Remain in Mexico” program.
dangers in Mexico
Claudia reported that threats from cartels, who often target Cubans because of kidnapping and blackmails, prevented them from noticed their appointment. When she finally crossed the border again, she told the immigration officer that her life in Mexico was in danger and was allowed to remain. After nine months in custody, she was released and was able to return to her family in Tampa.
a new beginning in the USA
there she studied to become a nursing assistant, met her husband, a naturalized US citizen from Cuba, and finally fulfilled her dream of becoming her mother after several in vitro fertilizations (IVF). Sánchez is convinced that they are not the cliché of the dangerous Undocumented Trump administration claims to want to remove it from the streets of the United States. "I never had as much as a ticket," she said.
the dramatic deportation
Nevertheless, their time in the United States, especially after the failed immigration hearing in 2019 and the changing political conditions for Cuban immigrants who had previously almost guaranteed residence permits. In April, the Immigration Authority (ICE) contacted Sánchez to tell her that an appointment with civil servants was brought forward to the next day. Her lawyers assured her that it was probably a routine review. But when she appeared with her daughter Kaily and her lawyer for the appointment, ICE agents informed that she was taken into custody and handed over her daughter to relatives. "Call the father to pick them up, they stay here," said the officials to her.a desperate call for help
"I told them: 'Don't take my daughter away from me',” Sánchez told the CNN. In a statement, the security authority rejected the claims of Sánchez and her lawyer that it was not given the opportunity to take her daughter with them. "We take our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with the federal police to ensure that children are safe," said DHS auxiliary clerk Tricia McLaughlin.
The legal challenges
sánchez ’lawyer said that they had tried to stop their deportation by arguing that their removal of their daughter would harm them, which she breastfeeded and suffered from seizures. But two days later, while Sánchez ’lawyers asked for a hearing date for the case, she was already on the way to Havana on a plane. "In such cases there are very strong humanitarian factors, and (Heidy) should not have been deported," said Sánchez ’lawyer Claudia Cañizares.
life in Cuba
Now every possible legal way for Sánchez to return to the USA could take years, according to Cañizares. Sánchez and her family hope that the resistance to their history is sufficient to gain enough public support-especially among the Cuban-American community, which Trump supported in the 2024 presidential election-to enable reunification. "The Trump administration tears families for political games," said US MP Kathy Castor (D-FL) together with a photo where she meets Sánchez’s man Carlos. "We take all measures to bring this family back together and unfortunately still wait for an answer from the White House to explain their illegal actions," she added.
fight for the family
While a dispute has flared up for her case, Sánchez is fighting to adapt to the serious conditions in Cuba. Daily
Kommentare (0)