The Cuban government has not been accepting deportations of Cuban nationals from the U.S. for more than six months, at a time when tens of thousands are leaving the island to reach the U.S. in the largest exodus since the 1980s Mariel boatlift.
In the fiscal year 2022 that started Oct. 1, 20 Cubans returned voluntarily to the island, but the Cuban government “has not accepted any ICE removals via commercial or charter flights,” a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Miami Herald.
In the same period, more than 46,000 Cubans have arrived at the U.S. border with Mexico, in an exodus driven by a crackdown on dissent and the island’s economic chaos.
Read more from our news partner at The Miami Herald.