“Border crossings by Cuban migrants have reached an all-time high: Over 220,000 Cubans attempted to cross the southern border illegally from December 2021 to December 2022, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Migrants are also making their way to the U.S. by sea. Since October, the Coast Guard has intercepted 3,700 Cubans at sea, already more than half than were intercepted in the previous 11 months.
For over six years, Cubans on the island could not apply for asylum or exit visas at the U.S. embassy in Havana after the Trump administration closed the embassy’s visa operations. This forced Cubans to travel to Guyana, one of the few countries Cubans are allowed to visit, to apply for asylum, an expensive and inaccessible process for many on the island. Cubans would no longer be automatically allowed to stay and pursue residency if they reached U.S. territory, as was the case before the Obama administration ended the “Wet-Foot, Dry-Foot” policy in 2017. So the suspension of visa services in Havana drove many to risk the voyage across the Straits of Florida or through Central America to the southern border, usually with the help of smugglers.
An increased number of Haitians have also fled their country, attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border amid ongoing gang violence, disease outbreaks, and political instability that has worsened in recent months. The limited opportunities for requesting asylum beyond the border and new restrictions on Haitian immigration in countries like Brazil and Chile have prompted many to take the risks as well.”
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“In response to this recent increase in migrant arrivals, Biden announced..that Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans would no longer be exempted from expulsion under Title 42. Up to 30,000 unauthorized migrants from these countries will be sent back to Mexico every month once the policy takes effect. Asylum claims at the southern border will also be limited.
The administration also announced new pathways for asylum, allowing Cuban, Haitian, and Nicaraguan migrants to apply for asylum if they promise to work for two years and have a U.S.-based sponsor who can support them during that period, claiming it will provide for “orderly migration” for migrants seeking to come to the United States. The State Department has reopened visa services in Havana to help facilitate this new asylum process.”
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“Regardless of the changes and the dangers that accompany the treacherous journey, many of the migrants remain undeterred in their mission to reach the United States.
“I would prefer to die to reach my dream and help my family,” Jeiler del Toro Diaz, a Cuban migrant who came ashore in Key Largo on Tuesday, told The Miami Herald. “The situation in Cuba is not very good.””