Trump Admin Deports Former Cuban Judge Who Sentenced Anti-Regime Protesters: 'Inadmissible Due To Her Affiliation'

The Trump administration deported a former judge who worked in Cuba and sentenced people who protested against the regime, according to a new report.

The Miami Herald detailed that Melody Gonzalez Pedraza was deported last week, with a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) saying the flight departed from Louisiana.

The woman had arrived in Tampa in May, seeking to enter the U.S. under the humanitarian parole program created by the Biden administration. However, she was denied entry due to her position in Cuba.

"ICE removed Melody Gonzalez Pedraza, a citizen of Cuba, from the United States to Cuba Sep. 25 via an ICE Air Operations flight departing from Alexandria, Louisiana," the spokesperson said.

"Gonzalez Pedraza was found inadmissible due to her affiliation with the Cuban Communist Party while serving as a judge," the official added.

The outlet noted that Gonzalez Pedraza sentenced four protesters just before leaving for the U.S. Shortly after her arrival, some of their relatives called on U.S. authorities to deny her asylum petition.

Cuban migrants keep a close eye on officials who travel to the U.S. or seek to do so. The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba last year compiled a database including over 1,000 people who, it says, were part of the government and engaged in surveillance, harassment, bullying and the imprisonment of dissidents and peaceful demonstrators, and now want to go to the U.S.

In April, ICE also arrested Daniel Morejón García, an alleged member of the Cuban minister of the interior. The agency alleged the man failed to disclose his previous political activities in his native Cuba in his immigration applications.

Morejón served as the president of the National Defense Council in the Artemisa region of Cuba. The FBI and the Border Patrol were also part of the operation that led to his arrest.

In a press release, ICE described his role as president of a group that is "composed of civilians trained and organized by the government and designed to assist authorities during incidents of social unrest, protests, or disturbances."

Authorities allege that Morejón García was activated by the Cuban government during the island-wide protests on July 11, 2021. In that role, there was evidence of the man assaulting protesters as part of his duties."