Rosa María Payá urges the U.S. to reconsider mass deportations to Cuba: “Most are escaping repression and misery.”

The Cuban activist Rosa María Payá made a public appeal to the United States government to reconsider the mass deportations of her compatriots, amid recent immigration measures driven by the Donald Trump administration, which threaten to leave thousands of migrants from the island without legal protection in that territory.

Through her account on the social network X, Payá stated that most Cubans arriving in the U.S. are fleeing from “the repression and misery” imposed by the Castro dictatorship, and urged American authorities to provide protection to those who are truly seeking freedom.

"We know that the U.S. perceives that change in Cuba is likely imminent. Thank you for welcoming generations of exiles who escaped tyranny. Provide sanctuary to those who are fleeing and help us put an end to this regime, so that Cubans can return to our homeland to be #FreeAndFriends of the U.S.," wrote the daughter of the late Oswaldo Payá, a renowned opposition leader of the Cuban regime, founder of the Varela Project, and an official candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

Payá also requested that the immigration authorities assess each case individually, identifying and expelling only those who lie on their applications or act as agents of the regime, taking advantage of American generosity.

"Evaluate and expel those who lie or are sent by the dictators to take advantage of the generosity of this country, infiltrate, and commit crimes," he added.

Rosa María Payá's statements come at a time of heightened tension, following the cancellation of humanitarian parole and the intensification of immigration control policies, which could leave more than 500,000 Cubans at risk of deportation.

As part of his activism, Payá has denounced human rights violations in Cuba at multiple international forums, and he leads the organization Cuba Decide, a platform that promotes democratic transition on the island.

Thousands of Cubans affected by the measures

A wave of uncertainty is shaking the Cuban migrant community in the United States following the recent decision by the administration of Donald Trump to pause the processing of permanent residence applications for individuals with humanitarian status, including refugees, asylum seekers, and parole beneficiaries.

According to CBS News, the Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) instructed its officials to suspend the processing of those forms for obtaining a “green card,” leaving hundreds of thousands of migrants, many of them Cuban, in a legal limbo who had already begun their regularization process after receiving humanitarian protection.

“USCIS is implementing a temporary pause on the completion of certain adjustment of status applications while additional identity verification, national security, and fraud prevention processes are completed,” the press outlet reported.

The measure is in response to two executive orders signed by Trump, aimed at tightening immigration control, banning potential threats to national security, and thoroughly reviewing the procedures applied during the presidency of Joe Biden.

Humanitarian parole...

The decision to revoke the status of humanitarian parole beneficiaries, a program created in 2022 under the Biden administration that allowed for legal and temporary entry, impacts citizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

The measure directly impacts more than 530,000 people. This total includes about 111,000 Cubans, although, according to journalist Wilfredo Cancio, nearly 26,000 would be left unprotected, especially those who arrived in the country after March 2024 and who do not yet meet the one-year-and-one-day requirement to apply under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

A little further from home and at greater risk of deportation

Lawyers and immigration experts agree that those who have already begun their status adjustment before the announcement of the measure—whether through the Cuban Adjustment Act, asylum, TPS, or special visas such as U or T—should not be affected by this suspension in terms of facing deportation.

However, the most vulnerable are those who: entered with parole and have not completed a year and a day in the U.S.; have not applied for asylum or initiated any legal proceedings; do not have any other immigration status or alternative means of protection.

These groups were granted a period of 30 days -ending on April 24- to voluntarily leave the country, otherwise they could face expedited deportations. A digital application for “self-deportation” (CBP Home) has even been created in an attempt to pressure those affected to exit the country without judicial intervention.

“Those who have done nothing are unfortunately subject to expedited deportation,” explained to Univisión attorney José Guerrero. “The government considers them a priority for quickly removing them from the country.”

I-220A and the dream of the “green card”

Federal judges have ruled that the I-220A document - provided upon crossing the border with Mexico - cannot be used to apply for permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

Many of these individuals have applied for asylum or have attempted to seek other avenues to regularize their stay in the U.S.
The situation of Cubans in this immigration status is concerning, as a recent report indicates that nearly 550,000 Cubans in the United States could be at risk of deportation due to the lack of clear pathways for regularization.

The uncertainty about their legal future and the implementation of stricter measures by ICE have caused alarm among immigrants and their families, who fear being unexpectedly detained, as has happened in recent raids in South Florida.

A broader immigration offensive

The pause in residency procedures for asylum seekers and refugees is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader strategy by Trump to dismantle the humanitarian programs implemented by Biden, arguing that many migrants were “poorly vetted” and that the processes are “fraught with irregularities.”

The new actions include: increased security and background checks; mandatory review of applicants' social media; expanded powers to declare foreign groups, including cartels and gangs, as terrorists.

Additionally, last month the processing of applications from Latin American and Ukrainian migrants under other special programs had already been halted, which reinforces the idea that Trump is seeking to completely reverse the more humanitarian and flexible approach of the Biden era.

Reactions and international condemnation

Human rights organizations have reacted with concern and severe criticism. Amnesty International described the revocation of parole as a demonstration of “contempt for human rights” and warned about its devastating impact on vulnerable communities.

Thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans who fled humanitarian crises now face the real possibility of being expelled from the U.S., despite entering legally and following the established processes.

With the procedures suspended, thousands of Cuban families are living today in fear of losing everything. On social media and migrant forums, confusion, anxiety, and a desperate search for legal alternatives to avoid deportation and remain in the country they arrived in seeking a better life are growing.

Frequently asked questions about the mass deportations of Cubans from the United States and the appeal from Rosa María Payá