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The government of the United States is preparing the first deportation flight of immigrants to Cuba in the second term of President Donald Trump, which could take place this Thursday.
Media and journalists in Miami reported in recent hours that the Trump administration would soon resume the deportation flights of Cubans, which had been taking place monthly since April 2023, under an agreement between the U.S. government and the regime in Havana.
The news portal Café Fuerte reported, citing unofficial sources, that a flight carrying deportable Cubans would leave Miami heading to the Cuban capital this Thursday, the first since Trump returned to the White House on January 20.
The last charter flight organized by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Cuba took place on December 19, with 42 Cubans who entered the U.S. illegally.
A total of 21 deportation flights were recorded during the administration of Democrat Joe Biden, with 978 Cuban immigrants returned.
In recent weeks, ICE agents have detained Cuban immigrants with final deportation orders during immigration enforcement operations deployed by the Trump administration to curb illegal immigration in the country.
The journalist Wilfredo Cancio Isla stated that what is unprecedented about these raids is that, in addition to Cubans with deportation orders for immigration violations and cases concluded in immigration courts, they have also included individuals ineligible due to having committed serious crimes and who have already served lengthy sentences in the U.S.
Café Fuerte referenced the case of a Cuban resident in the Florida Keys who was arrested this Tuesday during an ICE operation and transferred to a detention center in Marathon. From there, he was taken to the Krome Detention Center in South Miami-Dade and could be deported to Cuba soon.
Según indicaron fuentes familiares al sitio de noticias, el hombre es un emigrado del éxodo de Mariel, en 1980, salió de Cuba con siete años y no tiene allí ningún pariente ni casa que lo pueda acoger.
Univisión also reported this week on the case of Álvaro Fernando Medina Melo, a 38-year-old Cuban resident in Florida who was on parole with an I-220A form and was detained by ICE officials after attending his fourth routine appointment at the Miramar office in Broward County.
CiberCuba has reported in recent weeks the detention of Cuban migrants in irregular situations who are subject to deportation, according to immigration authorities.
During raids conducted in the states of Florida, Texas, and Arizona, dozens of Cubans with serious criminal records have been arrested, some of whom have pending deportation orders or were attempting to illegally enter U.S. territory.
Amid growing concerns among Cuban migrants in the United States, immigration attorneys have stated that “there is a very high probability” that Cubans who entered through humanitarian parole programs and CBP ONE, and have been in the country for less than two years, could be deported by the Trump administration.
On the other hand, experts claim that those who have the I-220A form are not at risk of deportation if they have ongoing proceedings with immigration authorities.
The highest number of Cubans deported by ICE was recorded during Trump's first presidential term (2017-2021), when 3,385 individuals were returned, most of whom arrived irregularly in the U.S. and lost their asylum options (I-220B). Meanwhile, Barack Obama sent back 341 Cubans and George W. Bush sent back 416, according to figures compiled by Café Fuerte.
Official statistics from ICE estimate that 42,084 Cubans have final deportation orders, who are currently under supervised release in the U.S. because the Cuban government refuses to accept them.
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