Data published by NBC News refutes the official version that only “murderers, rapists and gang members” are deported.
14ymedio, Havana, December 8, 2025 / More than 75,000 migrants with no criminal record, including several Cubans, have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the first nine months of the Trump administration. The figure, published Sunday by NBC News, refutes the official claim that the government is detaining and deporting “murderers, rapists, and gang members.”
Among the Cubans without criminal records is Cuban nurse Iván García Pérez, who has an I-220A form (Order of Release on Recognizance). ICE detained him on November 7th due to his immigration status and transferred him to the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center, where he has been pressured to accept self-deportation. His case remains unresolved.
Another case is that of Giovanys Vidiaux Revé. His wife, Marielys Gómez, reported his arrest on November 4th after his scheduled appointment in Houston, Texas. ICE detained him despite his having “complied with all his immigration and legal obligations” and “having no record, not even a traffic ticket,” she emphasized.
Last November in Miami, immigration attorney Willy Allen warned in an interview with América TeVé that Cubans with I-220A status face a growing risk of detention and deportation. “Deportations are being reported under this category. There is enormous danger. Eventually, the I-220A status could be recognized as parole, but there could be victims along the way,” he stated.
Analyst Ariel Ruiz Soto, from the Migration Policy Institute, said that Trump’s immigration policy exhibits a scenario of greater vulnerability for those living under immigration supervision, alternatives to detention, or pending legal proceedings.
The figures published by NBC News are the result of the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley, and do not include operations carried out by the Border Patrol, which, from cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Charlotte, and New Orleans, has intensified its efforts to locate and detain migrants within the country.
“The Border Patrol is a black box about which we know nothing,” warned Ruiz Soto. “We don’t know how many arrests they make, how many end in deportations, or under what conditions.” The specialist noted that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE operate under the Department of Homeland Security but with different missions: “The lack of transparency in CBP reports leaves a critical gap.”
In mid-May, then-White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller threatened to fire top ICE officials if they didn’t reach a minimum of 3,000 arrests per day. However, the actual figures, according to NBC News , reflect an average of 824 arrests per day—a considerable number, but still far from the target. Even so, it represents more than double the average during Joe Biden’s administration in 2014, when 312 arrests were recorded daily.
Ninety percent of those arrested were men, mostly of Mexican origin (85,000), followed by Guatemalans (31,000) and Hondurans (24,000). More than 60 percent were between 25 and 45 years old, a key generation for the workforce.
George Carrillo, executive director of the Hispanic Construction Council, warned that these arrests are already directly impacting industries that rely on migrant workers. “Even the most conservative Republicans are noticing. This is affecting their businesses,” he said.
Although the data does not specify how many of those arrested were deported, it does indicate that 22,959 cases are listed as “voluntary departures.” In addition, ICE currently holds 65,000 people in detention centers across the country.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
