Feds arrest ex-member of Cuban intelligence accused of falsely obtaining U.S. green card
A former member of the Cuban intelligence agency was arrested on Wednesday by federal agents who said he fraudulently obtained a green card to live legally in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the arrest of Tomas Emilio Hernandez Cruz, 71, saying he obtained his lawful U.S. residency by withholding his “true position within the Cuban Communist Party.”
Nestor Yglesias, a spokesman for Homeland Security Investigations in Miami, said agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI made the arrest in West Park, a city of about 15,000 people in Broward County.
HSI described the man’s arrest as “administrative” based on his falsely obtaining a green card — but the agency said it was not part of a parallel criminal investigation. That suggests he was detained solely for the purpose of deporting him to Cuba, which has diplomatic relations with the United States.
The arrest was made as the Trump administration escalates a crackdown on immigrants suspected of being illegally in the United States.
“HSI and its partners will continue their efforts to identify and arrest individuals who pose a threat to our national security,” Homeland Security Investigations said in a post on the social media site, X.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez said that the FBI in Miami had confirmed that “an agent of the Castro dictatorship had infiltrated our community by lying on his immigration application.”
He blamed the Biden administration for allowing the United States to be “overrun by these repressors.”
But it was not clear whether the ex-Cuban intelligence member arrested by federal agents on Wednesday had applied to become a lawful U.S. resident when Joe Biden was president.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 6:22 PM.
