«They Are Killing Me Slowly»: Cuban Woman Deported from the U.S. and Separated from Her Daughter


MIAMI, United States — Cuban national Heydi Sánchez Tejeda publicly denounced the painful separation from her young daughter after being deported to Cuba last Thursday by U.S. immigration authorities. “My little girl is my life, she’s my everything. They are killing me slowly every night I sleep without her,” Sánchez Tejeda said in a video posted on Facebook by her husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle.

The deportation took place after Sánchez Tejeda, who held an I-220B immigration status, attended a routine appointment last Tuesday at the immigration office in Tampa, Florida.

According to her husband’s account, during the procedure, immigration agents forcibly took their one-year-old daughter from her arms, triggering a severe emotional breakdown. “They left her in tears, her screams could be heard from outside,” Valle said.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Valle appealed to U.S. authorities for help: “Once again, I ask the representatives of this country to please help us. My wife is falling apart, she can’t endure this situation.” He explained that his wife had already had a family petition in process for over two years, and that their baby has health issues requiring maternal care.

In her video testimony, Sánchez Tejeda expressed gratitude for the support she has received and described the anguish of being separated from her daughter: “Every time I see the milk leaking from my breast that I can’t give her (…), when she says ‘Mommy, come’ and I can’t be with her…”

Finally, the Cuban woman pleaded for help to be reunited with her daughter and husband.

Heydi Sánchez Tejeda was under I-220B status, a form known as an Order of Release on Recognizance, which allows migrants to remain free under specific conditions while their immigration case is processed. However, this status does not protect against a final deportation order nor does it guarantee additional immigration benefits.

Since mid-2023, numerous Cubans with I-220B status have reported being detained during routine immigration check-ins, as part of a tightening of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies toward individuals who entered the country irregularly.

At the same time, the United States has ramped up deportations of Cuban nationals in accordance with bilateral agreements with the Havana regime. Thursday, April 23^rd, a repatriation flight returned 82 irregular migrants — 74 men and eight women — to Havana, according to Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior (MININT).

So far, U.S. immigration authorities have not made any public statements regarding Sánchez Tejeda’s specific case or about the mechanisms available for possible family reunification.

Recibe la información de CubaNet en tu celular a través de WhatsApp. Envíanos un mensaje con la palabra “CUBA” al teléfono +1 (786) 316-2072, también puedes suscribirte a nuestro boletín electrónico dando click aquí.