To Their Shock, Cubans in Florida Are Being Deported in Record Numbers

[squistion 2,757]

From NYT subscriber content:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/us/politics/cubans-florida-deportations-trump.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20260123&instance_id=169722&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=125207237&segment_id=214119&user_id=14502a7228c5a9b835a15627514bfe28

To Their Shock, Cubans in Florida Are Being Deported in Record Numbers

Heidy Sánchez took her 17-month-old daughter to a routine check-in last April with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tampa, Fla. During the appointment, federal authorities told her that she was being detained and that her husband should pick up their daughter, who was still breastfeeding.

Two days later, Ms. Sánchez, 44, who worked as a home health aide, was deported.

Ms. Sánchez’s story quickly spread across social media, in part because she is Cuban, a group that had long been treated differently than other immigrants, even when they entered the country illegally.

That has changed under President Trump.

He has repatriated more than 1,600 Cubans in 2025, according to the Cuban government. That is about double the number of Cubans who were repatriated in 2024. And in the years that Mr. Trump has been president, he has sent more Cubans back than his three predecessors.

Those numbers are greater for Cubans who were deported by land into Mexico. Some of them had been in the United States for decades and built families and businesses, but were removed because of an old criminal conviction — say, from Miami’s infamous cocaine cowboys days in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Nowhere has the shock of treating Cubans like other migrants been felt more than in Florida, which was shaped in modern times by exiles of the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

Families, businesses and communities that once felt removed from or immune to immigration enforcement now must face it head-on. Some Floridians worry that these deportations could stain the state’s proud Cuban identity, turning older immigrants against newer ones.

Under Mr. Trump, many other countries saw similar increases in repatriation. The difference is that Cubans had not previously been targeted as aggressively for removal. Regular deportation flights to Cuba began in January 2017, under President Barack Obama, paused during the coronavirus pandemic and restarted in 2023.

Many Cubans have also been detained for weeks or months in a facility in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” At another nearby detention facility, Cuban detainees protested last June by writing “SOS Cuba” on their shirts and spelling out “SOS” with their bodies in the recreation yard.

Legal immigration has also been all but cut out. Mr. Trump enacted a travel ban on 19 countries, including Cuba, and ended a family reunification program. U.S. officials are rejecting visa applications, which can take years to complete. Last month, the Trump administration paused all Cuban immigration cases, including pending naturalization, residency and asylum applications.

“It’s the most sweeping rollback of Cuban migration channels since the Cold War,” said María José Espinosa, the executive director of the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas, a nonprofit strategy organization based in Washington.

[SaintsInDome2006 921]

Actually I’m shocked too.

[Mike Honcho 5,611]

Every time I see Trump talking about how they opened their prisons and asylums, I'm pretty sure he's just remembering Scarface. 

[Hardcore troubadour 16,292]

Good news. Thanks. 

[squistion 2,757]

29 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

Every time I see Trump talking about how they opened their prisons and asylums, I'm pretty sure he's just remembering Scarface. 

Actually the prevailing theory is that he mistakenly thinks people seeking asylum were in asylums. 

[TBayXXXVII 2,706]

Because @squistion is big on "misinformation".  I'd like to point out some "misinformation".

"Cubans" aren't being deported.  "Illegal Immigrants" are being deported.  OP may want to change his thread title.  When he does that, not sure why we'd need a thread to say that "To Their Shock, Illegal immigrants in Florida Are Being Deported in Record Numbers".

[squistion 2,757]

12 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

Because @squistion is big on "misinformation".  I'd like to point out some "misinformation".

"Cubans" aren't being deported.  "Illegal Immigrants" are being deported.  OP may want to change his thread title.  When he does that, not sure why we'd need a thread to say that "To Their Shock, Illegal immigrants in Florida Are Being Deported in Record Numbers".

Did you actually read the article?

From the OP:

He has repatriated more than 1,600 Cubans in 2025, according to the Cuban government. That is about double the number of Cubans who were repatriated in 2024. And in the years that Mr. Trump has been president, he has sent more Cubans back than his three predecessors.

Those numbers are greater for Cubans who were deported by land into Mexico. Some of them had been in the United States for decades and built families and businesses, but were removed because of an old criminal conviction — say, from Miami’s infamous cocaine cowboys days in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Nowhere has the shock of treating Cubans like other migrants been felt more than in Florida, which was shaped in modern times by exiles of the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

[cyclone24 1,995]

So we have more liberals that are defending criminals because they committed crimes then had babies and avoided conviction and deportation by some arbitrary years gone by feeling to mentally make the leap they should stay. 
 

got it

[SaintsInDome2006 921]

Eh Bush & Trump just let ‘em into the country cuz they’d vote Republican.

[SaintsInDome2006 921]

1 hour ago, squistion said:

Families, businesses and communities that once felt removed from or immune to immigration enforcement now must face it head-on. Some Floridians worry that these deportations could stain the state’s proud Cuban identity, turning older immigrants against newer ones.

Have they not heard of the Leopard Face Eating Party?

[TBayXXXVII 2,706]

27 minutes ago, squistion said:

Did you actually read the article?

From the OP:

He has repatriated more than 1,600 Cubans in 2025, according to the Cuban government. That is about double the number of Cubans who were repatriated in 2024. And in the years that Mr. Trump has been president, he has sent more Cubans back than his three predecessors.

Those numbers are greater for Cubans who were deported by land into Mexico. Some of them had been in the United States for decades and built families and businesses, but were removed because of an old criminal conviction — say, from Miami’s infamous cocaine cowboys days in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Nowhere has the shock of treating Cubans like other migrants been felt more than in Florida, which was shaped in modern times by exiles of the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

I'm sorry, I must have missed it a second time.  Can you show me where it says that these people were legal American citizens?

[squistion 2,757]

12 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

I'm sorry, I must have missed it a second time.  Can you show me where it says that these people were legal American citizens?

You're missing the point. Cubans were accorded special status in Florida for decades including those that were not legal American citizens - that is why they are shocked by this.

This special treatment is why they have voted overwhelmingly for GOP candidates. I imagine that this will change starting in this year's mid term elections, because now they are being rounded up, grabbed off the street and deported like everyone else who speaks Spanish and/or has a brown skin color who can't show their citizenship papers.

Wonder what Marco Rubio thinks of this? Doubt he has said anything about it to Trump (nor will he). 

[TBayXXXVII 2,706]

1 minute ago, squistion said:

You're missing the point. Cubans were accorded special status in Florida for decades including those that were not legal American citizens.

This special treatment is why they have voted overwhelmingly for GOP candidates. I imagine that this will change starting in this year's mid term elections, because now they are being rounded, grabbed off the street and deported like everyone else who speaks Spanish and/or has a brown skin color who can't show their citizenship papers.

Wonder what Marco Rubio thinks of this? Doubt he has said anything about it to Trump (nor will he). 

Got it.  They weren't legal citizens.  Thanks. So I was right. 

[SaintsInDome2006 921]

31 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

Got it.  They weren't legal citizens.  Thanks. So I was right. 

That’s not what he said at all. He said they came here illegally but our nation gave them legal status regardless, probably because we were a beacon of liberty against an evil state 60 miles away. I’m a pretty conservative guy. I cannot understand why a conservative would pull the rug out from Cubans fleeing communism after our government offered these people protection. It’s not conservative at all. The Cuban communists love this.

[SaintsInDome2006 921]

38 minutes ago, squistion said:

You're missing the point. Cubans were accorded special status in Florida for decades including those that were not legal American citizens - that is why they are shocked by this.

This special treatment is why they have voted overwhelmingly for GOP candidates. I imagine that this will change starting in this year's mid term elections, because now they are being rounded up, grabbed off the street and deported like everyone else who speaks Spanish and/or has a brown skin color who can't show their citizenship papers.

Wonder what Marco Rubio thinks of this? Doubt he has said anything about it to Trump (nor will he). 

Rubio & Cruz are sad cases, hollow husks.

[League Champion 1,967]

2 hours ago, squistion said:

María José Espinosa

Guilty 

2 hours ago, squistion said:

Heidy Sánchez

Guilty 

2 hours ago, squistion said:

Cubans

Guilty 

[thegeneral 3,876]

2 hours ago, Mike Honcho said:

Every time I see Trump talking about how they opened their prisons and asylums, I'm pretty sure he's just remembering Scarface. 

I think he confuses claiming “asylum” with insane asylums and just keeps going with it

He’s like my Aunt Thelma.

[GobbleDog 1,029]

As a 5th gen Floridian who's been over-run by our wonderful Latino friends, it's a local stereotype that Cubans are classier, more honest, and a lot more hard-working than their Puerto Rican counterparts. Based on my interactions ... I generally agree.   

[Tree of Knowledge 2,321]

Spies and cut-throats getting the boot is what I am hearing. 

[League Champion 1,967]

47 minutes ago, thegeneral said:

I think he confuses claiming “asylum” with insane asylums and just keeps going with it

He’s like my Aunt Thelma.

3 more years Cry Baby 

[thegeneral 3,876]

18 minutes ago, League Champion said:

3 more years Cry Baby 

I’m here for the comedic stylings of Prez Jackass. It is gold!

[League Champion 1,967]

4 minutes ago, thegeneral said:

I’m here for the comedic stylings of Prez Jackass. It is gold!

Damn right you are, and crying 

[SaintsInDome2006 921]

27 minutes ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

Spies and cut-throats getting the boot is what I am hearing. 

That’s what Castro would say. 

[thegeneral 3,876]

11 minutes ago, League Champion said:

Damn right you are, and crying 

It is kind of sad how much of a joke he is. But this will all pass.