Cuban Mother Remains in ICE Custody

Daughter Says Cuban Mother Has Spent Eight Months in ICE Detention Despite Dismissed Removal Proceedings

Xiomara Companioni González walked into what her family says was a routine immigration check-in on Nov. 13, 2025. According to her daughter, Yaimi Yanet, she never walked back out. ICE detained the 63-year-old Cuban national, and she has remained in federal custody while her immigration case continues through the legal system. Court records confirm she has remained detained since that date and that the government's appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals remains unresolved.

Her story unfolds in the middle of one of the country's fiercest political fights. Immigration debates often revolve around border crossings, deportation statistics, and campaign promises. Individual lives rarely stay in the spotlight for long. Families, however, experience immigration enforcement one person at a time.

According to her daughter, Companioni González has no criminal history and complied with immigration requirements after arriving in the United States. Public court filings indicate an immigration judge dismissed the removal proceedings in 2024. The Department of Homeland Security appealed that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the appeal remains pending. Throughout the appeal, Companioni González has remained in detention.

Cuban immigrants have long occupied a unique place in U.S. immigration law. Although the "wet foot, dry foot" policy ended in 2017, the Cuban Adjustment Act continues to provide a pathway to lawful permanent residence for many Cuban nationals who meet its eligibility requirements after being admitted or paroled into the United States. Those longstanding legal distinctions often make Cuban immigration cases more procedurally complex than many other immigration proceedings.

The family's concerns have intensified since a medical appointment on May 9. ICE transported Companioni González to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Laredo, where Dr. Celso A. Rodríguez evaluated her. Following the examination, detention medical staff reportedly informed her that she required urgent surgery for a uterine condition. Physicians also recommended additional breast examinations because of other medical concerns. Yanet says her mother suffers from diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic medical conditions requiring ongoing treatment. Despite those diagnoses, Companioni González returned to detention and is still awaiting the recommended medical care, a delay her family believes has placed her health at increasing risk.

"We are not asking for special treatment," Yanet said. "We are simply asking that she receive the urgent medical care she needs and be treated with dignity and humanity."

Federal immigration authorities have limited discretion in certain circumstances to consider humanitarian factors, including serious medical conditions, when making custody decisions. Whether that discretion is exercised depends on the facts of each case, the governing law, and the agency's review. In Companioni González's situation, her family has sought humanitarian consideration while her immigration appeal remains pending.

The daughter says she has spent months contacting members of Congress and other elected officials seeking humanitarian assistance. "Although several congressional offices contacted ICE on her behalf, she remains detained while awaiting the recommended surgery," Yanet said. After exhausting those avenues, she turned to the media, hoping public attention would succeed where private correspondence had not.

Behind every immigration file sits a family waiting for news. For Yaimi Yanet, each passing week has meant another stretch of uncertainty while her mother's appeal remains pending and her family says her health continues to decline. "Every day that passes without proper treatment puts her health at greater risk," Yanet said. Federal law authorizes detention in many immigration proceedings, and immigration detention is classified as a civil, rather than criminal, process. Prolonged detention involving unresolved legal proceedings and serious medical concerns continues to raise questions about humanitarian standards, access to medical care, and how discretion should be exercised while a person's case remains before the courts.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

Copyright © 2026 Maria Santos Salinas for FRONTeras.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Sharing the original posts or links from FRONTeras on social media is allowed and appreciated.

FRONTeras is an independent publication protected by the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Our reporting and commentary draw from documented facts, public records, court filings, and reliable news sources. Opinions expressed in editorials are solely those of the author and do not constitute legal advice, divine truth, or the official position of FRONTeras. All articles, whether news, satirical, or commentary, are produced according to journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness, and independence. While errors in reporting are possible, they will be corrected promptly once verified through credible sources. Critiques are grounded in evidence, not malice. Attempts to censor, intimidate, or punish the press will not alter the facts we publish. FRONTeras will continue to report without fear or favor.