Cuban Asylum Seeker Released from Buffalo ICE Facility after Unlawful, Prolonged Detention

After 13 months, J.M.A. reunites with Buffalo-based family and community

Buffalo, NY – The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center (KHRC) celebrate the recent release of their client J.M.A., a Buffalo resident and Cuban asylum seeker who was subjected to more than 13 months of unlawful detention in the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (Batavia).

“J.M.A.’s release was hard-fought and long overdue,” said Sarah Gillman, Director of Strategic U.S. Litigation at the Kennedy Human Rights Center. “He came to the United States hoping for a better future and he did everything right, filing the paperwork, settling into a new community, and starting a new job. But instead of the political freedom he had hoped for, he was denied due process and locked in an immigration jail known for its abusive, inhumane conditions. We’re grateful that the Court upheld his rights, and we will keep fighting for other people who are trapped in the same nightmarish situation.”

“This ruling confirms that ICE blatantly violated the law by subjecting J.M.A. to prolonged detention without a hearing,” said Thomas Munson, Staff Attorney at the NYCLU. “The Constitution guarantees every person in this country fundamental due process rights — no matter their citizenship status. Despite the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to detain immigrants en masse, the law remains on our side: the federal government cannot detain people indefinitely without affording them due process.”

Fleeing political persecution in Cuba for his anti-Communist beliefs, J.M.A. came to the United States in 2023, through the CBPOne App. He applied for lawful permanent residence status under the Cuban Adjustment Act, and received work papers and a social security number. But in February 2025, J.M.A. was falsely accused of a petty crime—the charges have since been dismissed—and was turned over by Cheektowaga police to ICE, in violation of state law. He had been locked in Batavia ever since, despite the fact that he was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.

In September 2025, NYCLU and KHRC filed a habeas petition challenging his unconstitutional detention. After a months-long legal battle, on March 31, a judge in the Western District of New York ordered that J.M.A. was entitled to a bond hearing, deeming his detention “unreasonably prolonged” and finding that the government must justify his continued detention at a bond hearing – or release him. Following the bond hearing, J.M.A. was released on April 14 and reunited with his family.

NYCLU counsel on the case includes Thomas Munson, Amy Belsher, and Bobby Hodgson. KHRC counsel on the case includes Sarah Gillman and Sarah Decker.

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