Many migrants have been detained by members of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, in English), such as part of the tightening of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
While some people manage to get out of the numerous United States detention centerswhere several migrants remain, others must wait a long time for their case to be heard by the authorities.
But there are other cases in which migrants find themselves, literally, “abandoned” by the authorities of their own country, where the uncertainty of not knowing when they will leave those detention centers It grows as the days go by.
Such is the case, as evidenced by the media The Countryby Miguel Barreno López, a 39-year-old man, originally from Spain, who has been in a detention center in Kentucky for more than six months.
His situation has generated concern, because a judge approved his voluntary departure from the United States on November 17, 2025. However, no authority has notified him of progress in his case.
“I’m literally abandoned, like I don’t exist“López said in an interview he gave to The Country.
The media points out that the Spanish consulate in Chicago has not given signs of progress in López’s case, although his relatives have asked for help.
He also recounts how López has had to wait in the detention center, while he watches other migrants manage to return to their respective countries and feeds on the little food that the immigration authorities provide, such as instant soups.
López entered the United States on November 4, 2017, first to look for work and, second, to be close to Leticia Centeno. a woman originally from Nicaragua, with whom he fell in love and with whom he formed a relationship.
The media points out that it was on November 18, around 6:30 a.m., when López, who was on his way to work at an Indian food factory, He was “ambushed” by immigration authorities.
According to The Countrya vehicle with federal agents followed López’s car and He was arrested along with three other people from Nicaragua.
While the detained Nicaraguans asked for their voluntary departure from the United States—and thereby leave the detention center—López, Although he has requested it on several occasions, it has not been granted.
Initially, López was in a detention center in Indiana, but was later removed to Kentucky, where he remains.
The media cited the statements of López’s partner, who said that he has tried on multiple occasions to contact the Spanish consulate in Chicago to ask for help, but the authorities have repeatedly refused under the argument of “Now ICE has it and we can’t do anything“.