ICE Detains 18 People Showing Up for Scheduled Immigration Appointments [View all]

Source: Newsweek

Published Mar 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM EDT | Updated Mar 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM EDT


Cubans attending immigration appointments in Florida are reportedly being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. At least 18 individuals have been taken into custody, the Miami Herald reported, despite previously being given somewhat special protections from removal proceedings.

"The administration is taking a take-no-prisoners approach to immigration enforcement where every person who could conceivably be deported is a priority," Mark Prada, an immigration attorney in Miami, told Newsweek Friday. "Whether you are undocumented, have a process pending for legal status, or pending an immigration court hearing, DHS has always had the authority to arrest and detain if one does not have a valid, unexpired legal status." Newsweek reached out to ICE via email for comment on Friday afternoon.

The Context

The shift is coming as a shock to a community that showed widespread support for President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a message of mass deportations of illegal immigrants, in particular those with known criminal histories. Since his return to the White House, ICE has increased its efforts to detain and deport those without legal status, but multiple reports in recent weeks have pointed to the target widening to those who may have assumed they were safe.

What To Know

South Florida is home to hundreds of thousands of Cubans, many of whom fled their home country and claimed immunity from immigration enforcement by having already arrived on United States soil. The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 meant a swifter pathway to a green card than afforded to other nationalities. However, some Cubans will have been placed in removal proceedings by ICE and released while their case is pending on an I-220A form. This doesn't offer any immigration status and means they must take a longer path to permanent residency, such as claiming asylum.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/cubans-arrested-ice-immigration-appointments-2048860