The family that was deported to Cuba by mistake, after living in the United States for more than three years, spoke about the desperate situation they face, and that they hope will be reversed soon.
The family faces a traumatic process after, due to a mix-up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)On March 28, they were returned to Havana on a flight with 58 other Cubans, the third US deportation operation to the island so far this year.
In an interview with the independent media Radio Martithe family pointed out that the situation has been truly difficult, since they had already made a life in the United States and went from having all the resources at their disposal, to facing the numerous shortcomings of the Island.
“I feel very bad, very scared, nervous, destroyed by this, with this situation (…) because coming from there to a country that offers you many opportunities and then coming back to Cuba… is very difficult,” he declared. Denis Picos, the son.
His father, Guillermo Picos, indicated that what happened has been extremely stressful for his family, and especially Denis, 14 years old, who is already showing physical symptoms due to the emotional blow.
“The child, as you know, already had his study plans, his friends, his friendships, he is very traumatized by this situation. Arriving in Cuba, a baby appeared under his arm, a sore appeared in his mouth, another on his foot. He gets up in the early morning, he hardly sleeps, he is very traumatized by this situation,” he expressed.
For her part, the mother, Belkis Rodríguez, states that she still cannot believe what happened, and continues to hope that the situation will be resolved in her favor, that there will be a way to reverse the decision of the immigration authorities.
“Until the last moment that I am sitting on the plane that is bringing us here, I think that there is going to be a call, from the lawyer or from someone, who was going to take us off that plane, because I tell you honestly “The three of us didn’t fit on that plane,” said Belkis.
“They never let me speak with my lawyer, I asked four times, they told me that when I arrived in Miami they would give me the right to speak with the lawyer. “They never, never allowed me,” Guillermo added.
The family led an honest and quiet life in North Carolina. Belkis worked as a cashier at a Western Union branch, and Guillermo was a rental driver for Uber, while his son, a high school student, dreamed of becoming a computer scientist and joining the US Army.
A mix-up by ICE, which scheduled them for appointments in two different places at the same time last February, led to their expulsion from the country. After their obvious failure to attend one of the appointments, the family was called again, and there, without prior notice, they were detained and put on the plane to Cuba.
“I left everything, all my memory there. Practically all my things there. I had my little house there, everything was arranged perfectly, my personal things (…) From that day they told us we were going to Miami until the plane, I cried a lot and here I cry every day of my life, every day,” Belkis declared. .
“Once they put us on the plane, the wings fell off our bodies, my child cried a lot, very sad, very, because he already knew that we were coming back to Cuba,” added the father.
The family’s lawyer, Grisel Ibarra, stressed that she has returned to the family all the money they had deposited in fees for handling their immigration case, and that she filed an appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals, a process that is ongoing. .
Meanwhile, the family has asked Cuban-American Congressman Marco Rubio and US President Joe Biden for help to intervene and ensure that the error of the immigration authorities is reversed, so that this family’s dreams are not cut short.
#wings #fell
