Cuban Woman Deported; Husband Fights for Family Reunion

TAMPA, Fla. — A man is desperately trying to bring his wife back to the U.S. after she was deported to Cuba earlier this week. Carlos Yunier Valle, a U.S. citizen, said his wife, Heidy Sanchez Tejeda, was detained by ICE during a scheduled check-in appointment on Tuesday.

Tejeda, who has a 16-month-old daughter named Kailyn, had been in the process of obtaining a Green Card when she was taken into custody. Valle expressed his fear that their family will not be reunited anytime soon. “The last time I spoke with her was Friday morning. Now she’s in Cuba,” he said through a translator.

Valle, who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, migrated from Cuba after winning a visa lottery. He became a U.S. citizen about 15 years ago. He highlighted the difficult living conditions in Cuba that drove his wife to flee to Mexico in 2020, hoping to gain legal entry into the United States. “We were escaping misery and hunger,” Valle said. “It was a lot worse for Heidy because she was suffering a lot more.”

After months of waiting in Mexico, Tejeda was admitted into the U.S. but was placed under an “Order of Supervision,” meaning she could be deported at any time. Despite her status, she married Valle and received work authorization, working as a licensed nursing assistant.

In 2023, after marrying Valle, Tejeda applied for more permanent residency as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. On Monday, she received a call from ICE asking her to check in the next day. Valle said, “A lot of people told me not to go to the appointment because they might detain her, but we wanted to do things the right way.”

Unfortunately, after the appointment, she was put on a flight to Havana on Thursday, along with dozens of other deported Cuban migrants. Valle lamented, “Why are you targeting innocent people? We’re just working hard.”

The operation is part of a broader immigration crackdown, with local law enforcement collaborating with ICE to deport around 800 immigrants as part of “Operation Tidal Wave.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for ICE in Tampa confirmed they are reviewing Tejeda’s case but could not provide details on her current location.

Valle has reached out to politicians and immigration advocates to share their plight, emphasizing the need to bring his wife back. “They separated a girl from her mother. They killed a mother, a father, and the future of a girl while she was still alive,” Valle stated in an emotional video.

Legal experts have raised concerns about the treatment of individuals like Tejeda, stating that they deserve due process rights. Valle and his legal team plan to continue fighting for Tejeda’s return, advocating for her rights and those of other deported families.