Cuban detained by ICE while taking out his trash in North Miami; family demands answers
Eduardo Nunez Gonzalez stepped out of his North Miami home last week to take out the trash, unaware it would be the last time he set foot in his house.
As he tossed a white trash bag into the bin, a man approached him. Moments later, the Cuban national was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement —all captured on a Ring security camera from his home.
His wife, Vilma Perez Delgado, says she hasn’t seen him since the March 20 incident. According to her, Nunez Gonzalez, who has no criminal record, is now being held at a detention center in New Mexico.
Perez Delgado declined an interview with the Miami Herald, citing concerns about protecting the couple’s towing business. However, she provided the security footage from the Ring camera and updates on her husband’s situation.
Initially, Nunez Gonzalez was taken to Krome Detention Center in south Miami-Dade, which has become overcrowded amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
READ MORE: ‘Inhumane:’ Overcrowding strains Krome detention center amid Trump’s immigrant crackdown
Perez Delgado told NBC6 that while at Krome, her husband was deprived of food, water and even a bed.
In a text message to the Herald, she confirmed that he has since been transferred to the Torrance County Detention Center in Estancia, New Mexico, according to ICE’s detainee location search.
Perez Delgado said her husband suffers from chronic bronchitis and has yet to receive medical care. She also noted that the New Mexico facility has extremely strict security measures and that he was transferred from Miami in the middle of the night.
Wife has U.S. citizenship
Perez Delgado has received no explanation for her husband’s detention. The couple moved to the United States 11 years ago from Spain. In January, Perez Delgado celebrated becoming a U.S. citizen in a Facebook post. Her husband has spent years renewing work permits and trying to obtain his own citizenship, she said.
The couple has hired an attorney and appealed his detention order while awaiting further updates. Perez Delgado said their attorney also declined to be interviewed.
“They had him against the garbage can—without reading his rights, without asking for paperwork,” she told NBC6 in Spanish. “I’m his wife. They should give me an explanation.”
His family has launched a petition demanding justice, stating his detention has “torn our family apart and left a void in our lives.”
As of Friday, the petition had gathered over 700 signatures.
“What is wrong with ice taking someone that has been here working legally with no criminal history when there’s plenty of criminals to be focused on!,” wrote Priscilla, one of the petition signers.
“Keeping families together is essential for a better society .... Let’s be empathetic and raise our voices ...” wrote Miguel of Fort Lauderdale in Spanish.