It can be said louder, but not clearer. The Florida immigration attorney, Willy Allen, acknowledges that Cubans who remain in the United States with I-220B immigration status are the ones who "have the greatest concern." He has been that emphatic during his weekly program that airs on Mondays at 11:00 AM (Miami time) live on CiberCuba.
"The path of an I-220B to legalize in the United States is nearly impossible," acknowledged the lawyer in reference to the 82 Cubans deported last week to the Island, among them, Heidy Sánchez Tejeda, mother of a breastfeeding baby, and Víctor Manuel Izquierdo, married and a recent father of a one year and nine month old child. Both lived in Tampa, and neither had a criminal record.
"For me, the Cubans who have the greatest concern, which we have discussed countless times, are the I-220B. The path for a 220B to legalize in the United States is nearly impossible, because once you have a 220B, you lose your asylum and get deported, you lose credible fear and get deported, or you fail to appear in court and get deported," noted the prestigious attorney.
Allen lamented that individuals with I-220B who are being deported have families in the United States and have not committed any crimes. "Those being deported are the unfortunate poor who arrived after March 2017, and the vast majority of them have not committed any criminal offenses; they only lost their credible fear, lost their asylum, or mistakenly failed to appear in court," he insisted.
Another matter altogether is the I-220B individuals who have committed crimes. "For me, it is very important to differentiate between those who have a 220B status and are indeed criminals. Last week, I don’t know why, many people I’ve known for decades from my time as a criminal lawyer came to me; they are being deported due to serious criminal offenses. They are worried about what will happen to them, and some of them are around my age—70, 72 years old, and have been detained. The reality is that now, for them, having lived here with the assurance that Cuba would not accept them; they have no family in Cuba; they believed they could at least live year to year with their documents. I now see everything much more difficult for this population," he emphasized.
In response to the question of whether deported individuals can re-enter the United States illegally, Willy Allen advised against this route. "If they try to enter without a waiver granted by a consulate in their country, if they re-enter, they will be charged with illegal entry, a federal criminal offense, and they will be deported."
In their opinion, the most sensible approach is to seek that forgiveness, be patient, and wait because otherwise, they will never be able to regularize their situation in the United States.
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