More and more Cubans are risking their lives at sea to get to the United States.
Michael Bustamante, a historian at the University of Miami, and Andy Gomez, an expert on post-Fidel Castro Cuba, said there is an ongoing immigration crisis that is going largely ignored.
“It’s the biggest, most intense out-migration for sure,” Bustamante said about the comparative data on Cuban immigration since 1959.
Migrants wait in a fishing boat, about 10 miles south of Key Colony Beach, on Aug. 13, 2022. The Coast Guard repatriated the Cuban migrants on Aug. 16.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s latest data shows there have been nearly 177,850 encounters with Cuban migrants nationwide since October. It’s a sharp increase from the nearly 53,320 Cuban migrants intercepted during the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
“18 Cuban migrants were taken into #BorderPatrol custody today after making landfall on a wooden vessel in the Marquesas Keys, an uninhabited island west of Key West. The migrants were stranded on an island & rescued by @USCGSoutheast,” U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosa wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
The latest U.S. Coast Guard data also shows crews have interdicted nearly 4,000 Cuban migrants at sea since October when they had just intercepted about 890 during the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine operations aircrew alerted Sector Key West watchstanders of this fishing boat about 30 miles south of Long Key, Florida, Aug. 14, 2022. The Coast Guard repatriated the Cuban migrants on Aug. 16.
Gomez said the Cuban exodus is predictable amid the economic crisis on the island. He said Cuban government officials’ policies are encouraging the exodus and this shouldn’t be surprising since they have done it before.
“That is fewer people that they need to worry about,” Gomez said referring to the budget for food, housing, healthcare, and more.
After Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega lifted the visa requirement for Cubans late last year, he made it easier for Cuban migrants to fly from Havana to Managua to make their journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.
A good Samaritan notified Sector Key West watchstanders of this rustic vessel about 7 miles south of Key West, Florida, Aug. 3, 2022. The Coast Guard repatriated the Cuban migrants on Aug. 5, 2022.
Alain Lambert, better known on social media as the Paparazzi Cubano, is among the migrants who fled Cuba through Central America after participating in the July 11, 2021 protests against the government.
Lambert reported on Facebook that he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border through the Río Bravo and flew to South Florida with his daughter, wife, and brother. He visited Versailles on Tuesday in Miami’s Little Havana.
“The youth no longer believes in that dictatorship,” Lambert said in Spanish.
A good Samaritan notified Sector Key West watchstanders of this rustic vessel about 5 miles south of Key Colony Beach, Florida, Aug. 2, 2022. The Cuban migrants were repatriated on Aug. 5, 2022.
A look at the data
Graphic by Border Patrol
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data on encounters with Cuban migrants.
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Michael Bustamante, a historian at the University of Miami, and Andy Gomez, an expert on post-Fidel Castro Cuba, said there is an ongoing immigration crisis that is going largely ignored.
“It’s the biggest, most intense out-migration for sure,” Bustamante said about the comparative data on Cuban immigration since 1959.
Migrants wait in a fishing boat, about 10 miles south of Key Colony Beach, on Aug. 13, 2022. The Coast Guard repatriated the Cuban migrants on Aug. 16.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s latest data shows there have been nearly 177,850 encounters with Cuban migrants nationwide since October. It’s a sharp increase from the nearly 53,320 Cuban migrants intercepted during the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
“18 Cuban migrants were taken into #BorderPatrol custody today after making landfall on a wooden vessel in the Marquesas Keys, an uninhabited island west of Key West. The migrants were stranded on an island & rescued by @USCGSoutheast,” U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosa wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
The latest U.S. Coast Guard data also shows crews have interdicted nearly 4,000 Cuban migrants at sea since October when they had just intercepted about 890 during the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine operations aircrew alerted Sector Key West watchstanders of this fishing boat about 30 miles south of Long Key, Florida, Aug. 14, 2022. The Coast Guard repatriated the Cuban migrants on Aug. 16.
Gomez said the Cuban exodus is predictable amid the economic crisis on the island. He said Cuban government officials’ policies are encouraging the exodus and this shouldn’t be surprising since they have done it before.
“That is fewer people that they need to worry about,” Gomez said referring to the budget for food, housing, healthcare, and more.
After Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega lifted the visa requirement for Cubans late last year, he made it easier for Cuban migrants to fly from Havana to Managua to make their journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.
A good Samaritan notified Sector Key West watchstanders of this rustic vessel about 7 miles south of Key West, Florida, Aug. 3, 2022. The Coast Guard repatriated the Cuban migrants on Aug. 5, 2022.
Alain Lambert, better known on social media as the Paparazzi Cubano, is among the migrants who fled Cuba through Central America after participating in the July 11, 2021 protests against the government.
Lambert reported on Facebook that he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border through the Río Bravo and flew to South Florida with his daughter, wife, and brother. He visited Versailles on Tuesday in Miami’s Little Havana.
“The youth no longer believes in that dictatorship,” Lambert said in Spanish.
A good Samaritan notified Sector Key West watchstanders of this rustic vessel about 5 miles south of Key Colony Beach, Florida, Aug. 2, 2022. The Cuban migrants were repatriated on Aug. 5, 2022.
A look at the data
Graphic by Border Patrol
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data on encounters with Cuban migrants.
Interactive graphic
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){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");Continue reading...
