Locked up after torment and heartbreak
Two Cuban police officers barged into Brayan Lazaro Rodriguez Rodriguez鈥檚 home, handcuffed him, and shoved him to the floor. They beat him in the face with their batons, and broke one of his teeth. They labeled him a 鈥渃riminal,鈥� and locked him up at a nearby prison.
Rodriguez鈥檚 only 鈥渃rimes鈥� were that he had refused to vote, would not participate in Cuba鈥檚 mandatory military service, and did not join the country鈥檚 political assembly. The Cuban government labeled him 鈥渄efiant.鈥�
Three days after he was imprisoned, his mother died, and he was devastated by the loss. He was her only son, and they were very close.
Upon his release from the Cuban prison, Rodriguez, 23, fled to the U.S. He flew into Texas and presented himself at a port of entry in Laredo. He brought citations from the Cuban government, a doctor鈥檚 note describing the injuries he had suffered from his assault, and documents to support the fact that his life was in danger in Cuba.
He was locked up anyway at Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center and has been held captive there ever since.聽
Conditions at the immigrant prison are deplorable, Rodriguez said. The food is only suitable for rats. Mold clings to the cracks and corners of the walls, emitting a foul odor. In the mornings, when he and the other men get an hour outside to 鈥渆njoy鈥� fresh air, they stare at the barbed wire crawling up the fences 鈥� a reminder that they are ensnared in a system that won鈥檛 set them free.
After 鈥渞ecess,鈥� Rodriguez works in the kitchen, doing whatever is told of him, for $1 a day. He uses his meager earnings to call his remaining family members in Cuba.
Rodriguez is depressed, and with each day, his depression worsens. Alone and isolated, he tries to find comfort in the words of the Bible, but he is becoming increasingly desperate.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have hope,鈥� he said, weeping. 鈥淲hen I arrived, I quickly learned that we couldn鈥檛 leave. I feel trapped, scared and worried. I don鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�
Rodriguez has had four immigration hearings; none have gone his way. During his first hearing, the court would not grant him time to secure representation for himself, nor would it allow him to collect proof of his persecution in Cuba. An immigration judge ordered his removal from the U.S. on Dec. 17, 2018, but SIFI has secured a pro bono attorney to appeal his case.聽
Meanwhile, he waits. He doesn鈥檛 understand why immigration judges are denying countless Cuban detainees the chance to be released. He can only speculate on why he is still detained, saying that ICE is preying on Cubans鈥� vulnerability.聽
鈥淭hey know we come from a dictatorship,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey know how we are treated in Cuba, and that coming to the U.S. for asylum is our only option.鈥�
At night, he dreams of freedom. But in the morning, he鈥檚 jolted back to reality.
Through many tears, he said what he wanted to do if he were released: 鈥淭o be a good person. To work hard and prove that I am a good person.鈥�
