A report Thursday from the Miami Herald revealed that the Trump Administration has opened deportation proceedings against 25,044 Cubans in 2019, mostly asylum seekers at the U.S. border. The article also highlights how difficult it is to obtain asylum for people coming from countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, a clear example of the Trump administration systematically dismantling the asylum process.
The Florida Democrats have been calling on the administration to stop the deportations and detentions of those fleeing dictatorships in their countries, like Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, as well as filing legislation to restore the Cuban Family Reunification Program ended by the Trump Administration.
In the last year, deportations and detentions of Cubans increased 155 percent and a 600 percent increase in the last two years. According to NBC, about 5,000 Cubans have received deportation orders since the new U.S.-Cuba agreement, and 1,300 of them have been deported.
1/16/20, Miami Herald, After drastic policy changes, more than 20,000 Cuban asylum seekers are fighting deportation
Key Points:
- “The Trump administration opened deportation proceedings against 25,044 Cubans in fiscal year 2019, mostly asylum seekers at the U.S. border, according to data from immigration courts obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.”
- “The Trump administration reversed many of the measures taken by Obama, but not the elimination of that legal protection, despite launching a fierce campaign of sanctions and criticism against the repressive actions of the Cuban government.”
- “According to CBP figures, more than 21,499 Cubans arrived without visas at the Mexican border in fiscal 2019. The fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30.”
- “Weak economic growth, aggravated by the ongoing crisis in Venezuela and a flurry of U.S. sanctions, “continues driving a considerable amount of Cuban citizens abroad, especially to South Florida,” said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at the Florida International University.”
- “Immigration court records also show how difficult it is to obtain asylum in the United States, even for those fleeing from what the current administration has called “the troika of tyranny”: Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.”
- “Immigration court records also show how difficult it is to obtain asylum in the United States, even for those fleeing from what the current administration has called “the troika of tyranny”: Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.”
- “Obtaining asylum “is arbitrary and difficult; most people do not know what they have to prove,” Gómez said. “Most do not have access to legal advice. It’s like performing surgery on yourself.”’