Antonio Frómeta Ascón held in ICE custody over a year
- Cuban national Antonio Frómeta Ascón, 63, has remained under custody by U.S.
- Frómeta's prolonged detention involves legal history stretching back decades, beginning with a 2002 assault conviction in Palm Beach that carried a five-year probation sentence he completed.
- Beyond his immigration status, Frómeta reported witnessing events surrounding the January 3 death of fellow Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, while in ICE custody.
Cuban national Antonio Frómeta Ascón, 63, has remained under custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for over a year while federal authorities attempt to find a country willing to accept his deportation. Arriving in the United States in 1994 during the balseros crisis, Frómeta built a life in Florida over three decades, working as a tree trimmer and forming a family before his August 14, 2025, arrest in West Palm Beach during Operation Tidal Wave.
Legal Challenges and Detention Precedents
Frómeta’s prolonged detention involves legal history stretching back decades, beginning with a 2002 assault conviction in Palm Beach that carried a five-year probation sentence he completed. In 2008, he failed to appear for an immigration hearing, prompting an immigration judge to issue a deportation order in his absence. ICE attempted to deport him to Cuba in November 2025, but Cuban authorities refused to accept him. Furthermore, Frómeta rejected a proposed transfer to Mexico, stating to El Paso Matters, I am Cuban, not Mexican.
To challenge his ongoing confinement without a clear removal date, Frómeta filed a habeas corpus petition in March before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. His case invokes the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), which established a presumptively reasonable six-month period for detaining immigrants with final removal orders when deportation is not immediately feasible. Government filings in July indicated that the timeline for executing Frómeta’s removal currently remains unknown.
Witness Testimony and Health Concerns
Beyond his immigration status, Frómeta reported witnessing events surrounding the January 3 death of fellow Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, while in ICE custody. The El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled Lunas Campos’s death a homicide caused by asphyxia from neck and torso compression. They exposed him and I saw that they hit him as they took him away,
Frómeta stated to El Paso Matters. They assassinated him, there is no other way to say it.
Frómeta also alleged that a guard struck him in the ear during his own arrest, resulting in hearing loss, and that officials subsequently pressured him to accept deportation to Mexico. His partner told El Paso Matters that Frómeta is desperate and deeply depressed as his physical health deteriorates and he experiences weight loss. In a handwritten letter submitted to the federal court on August 14, Frómeta wrote, I have been detained for a year and fifteen days. I thank you for your time and may God bless you. Please, release me.
