The Cuban-American musician Willy Chirino sent a strong message to immigrants arriving in the United States amid the ongoing migration crisis: “You don’t come here to be lazy and hang out on a corner drinking beer; you come here to work, to work... if you work here, you succeed,” he stated in an interview with broadcaster Enrique Santos.
During the conversation, published on the YouTube channel Enrique Santos Show, Chirino expressed his concern about border management and the social impact of the uncontrolled mass influx of people. “Obama deported 2,500,000 Latin Americans, then Trump came and deported 1,700,000, and then Biden came, who not only has deported, God knows how many, 700,000, but has allowed 21 million people to enter, whose origins are unknown,” he stated.
The artist compared the current situation to the Mariel crisis in 1980, when Fidel Castro "emptied the prisons and asylums" to send inmates and the mentally ill to the United States. "It was a disaster, Jimmy Carter was the president," he recalled, warning that today the landscape is worsened by threats like drug trafficking and fentanyl: "That man opened the border and what came in here was...," he added, referring to Biden.
During Barack Obama's two terms (2009-2017), the United States recorded the highest historical figure for formal deportations: over 3 million expulsions, reaching a peak of 409,849 in the fiscal year 2012, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
On his part, Donald Trump, during his first term (2017-2021), accumulated approximately 943,000 formal deportations, well below Obama's record, according to the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics from DHS. In the case of Joe Biden, by fiscal year 2023, around 1.1 million removals were recorded, with a notable increase in 2024 that ended with 271,484 deportations, the highest figure in the last decade.
These numbers correspond exclusively to formal deportations managed by ICE. They do not include expedited expulsions or administrative returns (such as those carried out under Title 42).
Gloria Estefan calls for humanity and criticizes polarization
Chirino's statements contrast with the position of Gloria Estefan, who in recent interviews expressed her alarm over the persecution of immigrants and the growing political division in the country. “I have never seen the United States so polarized as it is now,” she told Jorge Ramos in July, recalling that, despite having lived through racial segregation, she had never witnessed such a tense atmosphere.
In another conversation with Canela News, the interpreter of “Mi tierra” recounted an incident she witnessed on a domestic flight, when immigration agents separated a mother from her baby: “What was the need to take that child from his mother’s arms if both were going to leave anyway? I don’t understand why we have to lose our humanity. It frightens me,” she said. In that same interview, Estefan acknowledged that there must be rules, but questioned the methods: “This country was built by immigrants. Obviously, there are people who take advantage, criminals who exploit the system, and we need to have rules. But it’s not necessary to go that far.”
An increasingly tense migratory context
The debate on immigration occurs as the government of Donald Trump tightens its immigration policies. In early 2025, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that “all illegal immigrants are criminals” for having violated immigration laws, making it clear that there will be no distinctions between those with criminal records and those who are simply seeking to regularize their status.
Mass detentions and deportations have intensified, also affecting thousands of Cubans who arrived during the migratory crisis of recent years. While Chirino insists that success depends on individual work and effort, Estefan urges not to lose one's humanity in the midst of the enforcement of the laws.
The debate reflects the diversity of opinions within the Cuban community in the United States, at a time when immigration continues to shape the country's political and social agenda.
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