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Nursing mother separated from breastfeeding infant at ICE appointment, deported to Cuba

Mar 23, 2026 · Florida, FL, Cuba

Nursing mother separated from breastfeeding infant at ICE appointment, deported to Cuba

Heidy Sánchez, a 44-year-old Cuban immigrant and home health aide who arrived in the U.S. in 2019, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2025, during what she believed was a routine annual check-in appointment at the Tampa office while nursing her one-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen born prematurely with seizures. She was handcuffed and separated from her daughter as her husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle, a U.S. citizen who owns a landscaping company, heard her screaming. Two days later, on April 24, Sánchez was deported to Cuba on a flight with 81 other Cuban migrants. Sánchez had no criminal record, worked as a home health aide, held a social security card and driver's license, paid taxes, and was complying with ICE requirements under her I-220B supervision order. Her daughter, distressed by the separation, refused to eat. From Cuba, Sánchez has recorded tearful video pleas to President Trump and walks up to ten times daily searching for internet to video call her daughter. U.S. Representatives María Elvira Salazar and Kathy Castor have called for her reunification, with Castor filing a humanitarian parole request with the Trump administration. DHS disputed Sánchez's account, claiming she was offered the choice to take her child or place the child with a designated relative. Sánchez arrived in Cuba without passport, identification, or documentation explaining her deportation.

Timeline

May 8, 2025U.S. Representative Kathy Castor files humanitarian parole request; Representatives Salazar and Castor call for Sánchez's reunification with her daughter
Apr 24, 2025Sánchez deported to Cuba on flight with 81 other Cuban migrants, arriving without passport, identification, or deportation documentation
Apr 22, 2025Heidy Sánchez detained by ICE during routine annual check-in appointment at Tampa office while nursing her one-year-old daughter; handcuffed and separated from child

Sources

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