Yasmany Moreno de Armas, a 32-year-old Cuban migrant, has spoken out about his experience being deported to the Central African Republic by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Moreno stated that an ICE agent laughed while informing him during a flight that he was being sent to the nation, which is on a U.S. State Department list of countries to avoid.
Moreno, who lived and worked in Florida for a decade after entering the U.S. in 2016, found himself in this situation after his temporary permit expired and his green card application was denied. He believes the deportation to a country unknown to him is inhumane and unjust.
"I honestly thought it was a bad joke because the officer laughed, like he was making fun of me," Moreno told The Tampa Bay Times. "It is a completely inhumane situation. What are we doing here? It is a question we ask ourselves every day."
He has been in the Central African Republic for a month, staying in a hotel in the capital city of Bangui without a passport or clear direction for his future. "We cannot leave, we don't have documents and we're suffering and missing our families, in a continent we don't know," Moreno told CBS News.
Moreno also expressed concern about potential repercussions if he were returned to Cuba, noting that the Cuban government had previously imprisoned him following an earlier attempt to flee the island. "If you're going to be deported, it should be to your home country, not to another country where you don't know the culture," he said.
A Department of Homeland Security statement indicated that the agency is utilizing "all lawful options" for deportation operations. The agency also stated, "When an individual is no longer in ICE custody then ICE will no longer be responsible for them. This is common sense."
Recent ICE data shows a significant increase in arrests. In July, ICE made nearly 50,000 arrests, the highest total for the second term of the Trump administration, representing a 15 percent increase from June and a 70 percent rise since February. Texas and Florida accounted for nearly 20,000 of these detentions.
The agency attributes the spike in arrests to a recruitment drive that increased its personnel and an expansion of a program deputizing local police to arrest immigrants. These partnerships now account for approximately 14 percent of ICE arrests nationwide, with Florida reporting 15,000 arrests and Texas reporting 10,000 made by local officers on behalf of ICE.
Additionally, billions in new funding have been allocated to ICE through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and contracts have been expanded with firms such as Palantir to support immigration and border enforcement efforts.
Moreno, who owns a trucking company in Florida and supported his parents, highlighted his medical conditions, including asthma and diabetes, and his separation from family and friends. "I had been in the United States for 10 years. Now, I feel like I'm in prison," he said.
