MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban-American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar asked the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, to apply the Adjustment Act to Cubans who entered the country with the I-220A permit, according to Salazar herself. a video posted on his Twitter account.
“I am fully aware of what the close to 300,000, 4,000,000 Cubans who have the I-220A are going through. I understand very well that I-220A ends in nothing. That group of people cannot benefit from the Cuban Adjustment Act. They entered and then when their permit runs out, they don’t know what they are going to do anymore because they don’t have a safe path,” said the congresswoman.
“For this reason, I personally told the secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Mayorkas -Cuban-American, by the way- to understand that these people must be given an answer, that they can take advantage of the Cuban Adjustment Act and can embrace this country as we have done so many Cubans before you”, he added.
Salazar assured that he is working to find a legal way out for the thousands of Cubans with I-220As. “I’m on it,” he stressed. “I perfectly understand what the need is and I am sure that with the favor of God we will be able to get you to take advantage of the Cuban Adjustment Act as millions of Cubans have done before.”
“The United States deserves that sacrifice and deserves that you who entered with the I-220A behave yourself, follow the rules and become prosperous and dignified and decent citizens of this great nation,” he concluded.
The resumption a week ago of the deportation flights from the United States to Cuba has raised concern in the Cuban community due to the large number of migrants from the Caribbean island who lack legal status in the northern country.
Interviewed by the chain Univisionimmigration attorney Miguel Inda-Romero explained that Cubans who have an I-220B or I-220A document are, in that order, the ones at the highest risk of being deported.
“Those are the ones who run the most risks, because they already have an order from a judge, they are under ICE supervision. [Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos, por sus siglas en inglés] and they have their annual visits. Possibly, if they went on these visits, they could be detained,” Inda-Romero explained.
The lawyer maintained that “in the case of Cubans with I-220B (deportation order), the reasons for the deportation should be reviewed, if it was due to an illegal entry into the country or if it was for a crime.”
“They could apply for a waiver if they are married to a person who is a citizen or resident, or have a parent who is a citizen or resident. We can try to reopen the case to see if the deportation can be removed. It all depends on the base of this ”, he pointed out.
Inda-Romero specified that the Cubans deported on the flight on Sunday, April 24 they were people who failed their credible fear interview, lost their asylum case, and were being held at the Krome Processing Center and other sites.
“With these the next two flights could be filled. What would happen next and who would fill the next flights? That is the great concern that many of the people with I-220B have, because they do not know what is going to happen in the future.
An ICE spokesperson told Monday CyberCuba that those Cubans with definitive expulsion orders under Title 8 would be deported and that the return of individuals who may face persecution on the Island would be prevented.
