“I Thought They Only Deported Criminals”: Trump Supporter Says She Feels “Betrayed” After Husband Sent to Cuba

Liyian Páez believed in the promise of a strong America. A Cuban-American and Trump voter living in North Miami, she placed her trust in the former president’s tough talk on immigration, thinking it would only apply to “criminals” and not law-abiding families like hers. That belief shattered on April 24, when her husband, 28-year-old Alían Méndez Aguilar, was abruptly deported to Cuba.

Now, she finds herself alone, caring for their three-year-old daughter and her older son, who suffers from severe disabilities. The emotional and physical toll is mounting and so is her anger.

“I thought they would only deport criminals,” Páez told Univision in a tearful interview. “We are good people.”

Her husband’s only offense was showing up to a routine immigration appointment. He had no criminal record, no history of trouble—just a life built with his family in South Florida after arriving in the U.S. in 2019. Though a deportation order had been issued against him in 2020, it was never enforced because Cuba refused to accept him at the time. He was released under supervision, and during those years he married Páez, became a father, and stepped in to help care for her disabled son.

The Trump-era policies that enabled fast-tracked deportations for immigrants under final removal orders, even without criminal convictions, remained quietly in effect. Méndez, despite having a pending family petition and no active legal issues, was swept up in what’s being described by advocates as a “cold-blooded” deportation.

Páez is now one of a growing number of Trump-supporting Latinas left reeling from the very policies they once championed.

“I supported Trump because I believed he was strong on security,” she said. “But I never thought it would be used to destroy families like mine.”

Her story isn’t isolated. Advocacy groups point to Méndez’s case as part of a broader trend under immigration rules that disproportionately impact Cubans, especially those who arrived after the end of the longstanding “wet foot, dry foot” policy in 2017. Since then, asylum approval rates for Cubans have plummeted, and deportations have surged.

Read Also: Trump Melts Down Over ‘Gifted’ $400M Jet From Qatar: ‘World Class Losers!’

Following Méndez’s removal, Páez took her daughter to Cuba for a brief visit. The emotional reunion, she said, was gut-wrenching.

“She kept saying, ‘daddy, daddy,’ and hugging him,” Páez recounted. “She didn’t understand why he was gone.”

Back in Miami, the young girl now cries at the sight of other fathers with their children. Páez is left juggling motherhood, caregiving, and a full-time job alone.

Méndez, meanwhile, faces a steep legal climb to return. Immigration experts say his path may require multiple waivers and years of legal navigation. The fact that he has no criminal record and a U.S. citizen spouse may help, but the timeline is uncertain at best.

Desperate for answers, Páez has started contacting senators and congressional representatives, pleading for their help. Her message to politicians is simple: “This isn’t justice.”

The situation reflects a broader reckoning among immigrant families who once supported Trump, only to see those same policies fracture their homes. What once felt like a stand for national security has, for some, turned into a deeply personal betrayal.

“We never imagined we’d be the ones getting hurt,” Páez said.

As she continues her fight, she hopes that sharing her story will shine a light on the human consequences of immigration enforcement that, in her words, “no longer sees people just paperwork.”

Source: Themirror