Yuniel Abreu Campos, a Cuban immigrant with no criminal record and an active residency process under the Cuban Adjustment Act, was deported by ICE on November 6, 2025, on a flight that transported more than 230 people to Havana.

His family claims that he had attended an immigration hearing in Florida and that, after appearing before the judge, he was arrested and taken to a detention center

Abreu's Detention

According to CiberCuba, his lawyer, Lissete Tocado, and his partner, Yeni Fernandez, maintain that Abreu had an active appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which should have prevented any removal while his legal arguments were being evaluated.

Additional information published by Univision confirms that he had entered the United States in 2022 across the border and was under the I-220A status, a document assigned to those who are subject to deportation proceedings but can continue their process while free.

In his first appearance before a judge, his case was dismissed, and ICE agents immediately detained him. According to Abreu himself, in statements cited by Univision, he was taken to the Krome detention center and later to another facility in Louisiana, where he remained for more than five months.

Records indicate that he was placed on a deportation list with almost no notice and sent on the flight that arrived in Cuba with 232 migrants. His lawyer insisted that the pending appeal required to halt the deportation and called the decision an improper action.

Abreu's Life in Florida

Univision reported that Abreu Campos ran a small construction company in Florida. His family indicated that he had a stable work routine and no criminal record or minor infractions.

His partner stated that he financially supported the household while his application under the Cuban Adjustment Act was being processed. The family questions why he was removed without clarity as to why the existence of the active appeals was ignored.

His family awaits a legal turn of events

Fernandez told Univision that she and her children remain in Florida,coping with the absence of the household's main provider.

CiberCuba added that Abreu remains in Cuba, while his lawyer continues to hope that, if the appeals are resolved in his favor, there could be a path for him to return to the United States, although she acknowledges that the current immigration landscape complicates that possibility.