Aurora woman visits husband at ICE detention facility, learns he was sent for deportation

An Aurora wife and mother is speaking out after learning her husband could be deported in the coming days, following a visit to the Aurora ICE detention center.

"His life is on the line," said Alexandria Dowell, "and we have a daughter. She cannot see her dad anymore. What does that mean for us?"

Dowell, 27, met her husband, 34-year-old Ariel Cruz Penton, when she was vacationing in Miami roughly four years ago. Penton had already been living and working in the U.S. after fleeing Cuba as a political refugee.

"My husband came to the U.S. about seven years ago. When he came to the border, he presented himself and pleaded political asylum," said Dowell.

Penton's attorney, Carlos Dantes, tells CBS Colorado that federal agents coerced the Cuban migrant into signing documents that he didn't know would end his right to humanitarian parole after entering the U.S. That parole would've given him temporary permission to stay in the U.S., which is required under the Cuban Adjustment Act, while he filed for an asylum claim. Under this act, Dantes says his client would have eventually been granted residency.

Instead, he received a deportation order.

Dowell says they have been actively fighting to reopen his case and get him a green card. They also filed for citizenship through their marriage nearly a year and a half ago.

"We had our immigration meeting about three weeks prior to him being detained, and then we even had another one scheduled in the books," she said. "So, we had every reason to believe that we were going to be okay."

Their worst nightmare became a reality on June 10. On the same date, thousands took to the streets across the country in anti-ICE demonstrations, and federal agents detained Penton while working.

"I don't know if they were following him, how they found him, but three unmarked cars just came up, cornered their cars in, had him get out of the car and arrested him. And it makes no sense why someone with no criminal background or even a speeding ticket would need that much force to be taken and detained," said Dowell. "He works really hard, we pay our taxes, we also own a home and we're a family. We're married, I'm U.S. born, our daughter is U.S. born, so we have everything on paper that should help us through this process, and yet the system has failed us."

"We are waiting to speak to another deportation officer, and seeing if we can get a hearing as soon as possible," said Dantes.

On Friday, June 27, Dowell took CBS Colorado with her on her family's visit to the detention center to meet and speak with her husband. However, she was not prepared to find out Penton was not only removed from the facility that morning, but that he was already being scheduled for deportation.  

"What am I going to do? That's my husband," said Dowell. "But I can't do anything, and I have to be strong for my daughter."

Neither Dowell nor Dantes were notified about his removal from the facility, and it wasn't until after calling multiple detention facilities and Penton's detention officer, they finally learned he was sent to El Paso and is already on the list to be deported.

"Him being detained is a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong set of documents," said Dantes. "Even though there is a petition on her behalf for him. But what we're seeing right now is that none of this matters."

All the emotions Dowell has worked to suppress over the last few weeks have now reached a tipping point.

"They said he'll be out of the U.S. today or tomorrow, and I'm like, where? He's a political refugee; you can't just take him. He's waiting for his credible fear interview," said Dowell.

We asked ICE numerous questions about Penton's case, including why he was detained and why loved ones were not notified about his removal from the facility on Friday. A spokesperson told us they would need more time to answer those questions.

"I just wish I could see him again," said Dowell.

Dowell hopes her story will show others the reality of families like hers who are being ripped apart.

"It feels like no one is safe at this point, and that's the scary part," said Dowell.

Dowell and Dantes are still looking for ways to prevent Penton from being deported, especially to Cuba.

On Monday June 30, a spokesperson for ICE Denver issued this statement in response to Penton's detainment:

U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Ariel Cruz Penton, 34, a Cuban national who has a final order of removal from an immigration judge issued Aug. 1, 2019. Penton illegally entered the country near El Paso, Texas on May 30, 2019. He was arrested by ICE Denver June 10 as an illegal alien subject to a removal order from the United States.