The final days of a self-deportation: Deivy Aleman returns to Cuba as his daughter awaits open-heart surgery

"If you ask Deivy Aleman now that he's about to leave what the most precious thing he wants to carry in the 23-kilo black suitcase that he's having so much trouble packing is, he'll answer without thinking, or rather, like someone who has been thinking about it for a long time: My daughter! An awkward silence falls in the bedroom of the first-floor apartment in a modest building in Orlando, central Florida, and then someone jokes that Keira, his two-year-old daughter, would fit perfectly"

"Deivy is self-deporting. Not because they want to. No one voluntarily deports themselves anywhere. Deivy, 41, is being expelled from the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It's the only option ICE gave me, he says, calm on the outside, but as if a volcano of anguish were erupting inside him. They warned me: either I leave voluntarily, or they'll detain me. But the only thing I want is to stay here, with my family, with my little girl."

"So the week before the flight, the family went shopping: they bought a box of light bulbs and a rechargeable fan to get through the island's long blackouts, grabbed packs of La Llave coffee, toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, and all kinds of medications. The rest of the suitcase will be filled with Deivy's shoes and clothes, leaving enough space in the closet for his wife, Yisel Miguel, to fill as she sees fit."

Deivy Aleman, 41, is being expelled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and chooses voluntary departure to avoid detention. He faces leaving his two-year-old daughter, Keira, and his family in Orlando, Florida. The family prepares for his return to Cuba by packing essentials for shortages: rechargeable light bulbs, a fan for frequent blackouts, La Llave coffee, toiletries, medications, shoes, and clothes. The suitcase reflects practical needs and emotional priorities, with room left for his wife, Yisel Miguel, to fill. The departure compresses complex anguish into the act of selecting what can be carried home.

Read at english.elpais.com