After Tampa mom deported to Cuba, Castor urges federal action

Juan Carlos Chavez, Tampa Bay Times on May 3, 2025

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TAMPA, Fla. — Five years ago, Heidy Sánchez Tejeda crossed the U.S. southern border.

Last week, she was deported to Cuba after she was arrested during an immigration interview in Tampa, separating her from her husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle, and their 1-year-old daughter, Kailyn.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., met privately with Valle to affirm her support and explore possible legal and humanitarian avenues to help Sánchez Tejeda return. Castor also met with two other women whose partners were deported to a prison in El Salvador in March.

Castor sent a letter this week urging President Donald Trump to grant humanitarian parole for Sánchez Tejada. Castor denounced the way immigration authorities arrested Sánchez Tejeda during a regularly scheduled check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Tampa on April 22.

“The separation of mother and daughter was so sudden and traumatic that their infant daughter was taken to the hospital,” Castor wrote. “The baby was still breastfeeding at the time your administration tore them apart, and the baby’s ongoing health issues require her mother’s return to the U.S. as soon as possible.”

Castor said the treatment of the Sánchez Tejeda-Valle family was “a deep stain and is repugnant to American values and constitutional protections.”

“Ms. Sánchez is entitled to due process, and her husband and daughter (both U.S. citizens) deserve to be treated with the dignity we value as Americans,“ wrote Castor. ”Due to the suffocating oppression in Cuba and lack of essentials like food and clean water, Ms. Sánchez should not be trafficked to a country where she will be harmed and suffer.”

Sánchez Tejeda’s case has drawn the attention of local leaders, advocates and nonprofits who defend immigrant rights. Last weekend, dozens of supporters gathered in downtown Tampa to show solidarity with Sánchez and her family.

One of the organizers, Ruth Beltran, an advocate with the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network, said the demonstration was a call to action for justice and dignity.

“No mother should be ripped apart from their child like Heidy was. It is inhumane and unacceptable. Too many immigrant mothers are now faced with this reality,” said Beltran. “We stand together to demand dignity for mothers and children confronting the cruelty of family separation and violation of basic human rights.”

Sánchez Tejeda first came to the United States in 2019 under a temporary stay permit known as the I-220B form, a permit that does not grant legal status or provide protection from deportation. She missed an immigration hearing while she was waiting in Mexico and was ordered deported in absentia. When she later entered the United States, Sánchez Tejeda was detained for nine months in an immigration facility.

She was released under the condition to regularly check in with immigration authorities, an order she complied with and followed. Sánchez Tejeda married Valle, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, four years ago. He filed a petition for permanent legal status for his wife, but Valle said he never received a response from immigration authorities.

Sánchez Tejeda’s attorney, Claudia Canizares, launched a campaign on MoveOn to collect 3,000 signatures in solidarity with Sánchez Tejeda. So far, it has gathered 2,100 signatures.

Canizares said the issue is not only about immigration.

“It is about compassion, family unity, and a child’s right to her mother’s care,” Canizares wrote in her petition drive. “We ask that you act swiftly to correct this tragic separation and allow this family to heal together.”

Valle said his family also tried to reach out to the office of U.S. Sen. Rick Scott last week through one of Sánchez Tejeda’s cousins, Alonso Rodríguez, who’s fluent in English. But Scott’s office said in a letter that they were unable to assist.

“You may wish to speak with a private attorney, who can best answer any legal questions or concerns you have,” the letter stated.

The emotional toll of the separation is growing by the day. During an interview through WhatsApp with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday morning, Sánchez Tejeda, who is living at her mother’s house in Havana, said she can’t sleep thinking about her daughter.

“It’s very difficult to live this way, far from my daughter and my family,” said Sánchez Tejeda. “My daughter needs me. My daughter is still breastfeeding.”

Sánchez Tejeda described the pain of separation not only for herself, but for her daughter, who is too young to understand why her mother is gone.

“I am suffering, but so is my daughter, and that’s what worries me the most. It’s very hard because every time she sees me on the phone, she says, ‘Mama come, Mama come!’” Sánchez Tejeda said. “I can’t explain to her that I’m far away and can’t be with her. It breaks my heart.”