Man Misses Wedding After Being Arrested in Miami for Carrying Beer Outside a Supermarket

A Mexican man, who had lived in the United States for 18 years and was on the cusp of marrying an American citizen, saw his wedding plans—and his future in the country—derailed when he was arrested by police upon exiting a supermarket with beer in a bag. The incident was detailed by immigration attorney Willy Allen III during a live interview with Tania Costa on their weekly CiberCuba program each Friday.

Allen III explained that the man had initially entered the country legally but did not have a valid immigration status at the time. The couple had scheduled their wedding in three weeks with the intention of starting the family petition process and applying for forgiveness for his irregular entry.

Police stopped him outside the supermarket, accusing him of being publicly intoxicated, solely based on the fact that he was carrying beer in his bag.

"They stopped him outside the market and said, 'You’re clearly drunk in public because you have beer in your hand.' They arrested him without any test or further investigation," Allen III recounted.

This seemingly minor arrest had catastrophic consequences. With just 21 days to go until the wedding, the man was detained, leaving his immigration regularization process hanging in the balance.

"We are witnessing very difficult times with these tensions. And there’s nothing that can be done because he was supposed to get married in 21 days and was just leaving a supermarket with beers," the attorney lamented.

Allen mentioned that the bride would meet with an attorney from his office to explore possible solutions, but in the worst-case scenario, the couple would have to handle everything from abroad.

"He will have to go back to Mexico, they’ll need to get married there and proceed with the process from Mexico," he said.

The lawyer described the arrest as a racist pretext and warned that similar situations could affect any immigrant without status. "This kind of thing can happen to anyone. It’s a racist pretext. Of course, one must be cautious and try to make as few mistakes as possible," he noted.

This situation is exacerbated by the tightening of immigration policies under the Trump administration. According to statistics cited by Allen's father, in May 2026, 74.2% of those detained by ICE as of January 25, 2026, had no criminal background, which indicates that the profile of the detained is no longer exclusively that of immigrants with a criminal history.

Currently, Willy Allen Sr. has warned that no one is completely safe from being detained by ICE, even those without any criminal offenses. He also underscored that lies or mistakes in immigration processes can irreparably ruin a case that might otherwise be resolved.

"One must be prudent," concluded Allen III, encapsulating in four words the central warning for any immigrant hoping to regularize their status in the United States.