The authorities said that six of them from Afghanistan are “of special interest”
14ymedio, Havana, November 20, 2024 — Despite the legal mechanisms to enter the United States (primarily humanitarian parole), the existing violence in the region and the tightening of laws in some border states, there are still numerous illegal crossings from Mexico. Last Sunday, for example, a group of 154 immigrants was captured in Texas, including Cubans, although it was not specified how many.
The Texas Department of Public Security (DPS) reported, through its spokesman, Chris Olivarez, that in addition to Cubans, there were “illegal immigrants from Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, who illegally crossed between the ports of entry in Eagle Pass.” The authorities pointed out that there were six immigrants of “special interest” from Afghanistan.
Although they can seek to enter the United States legally with humanitarian parole and the CBP One application, the search for a better life has forced many Cubans to take routes that put their lives at risk. At least 4,865 migrants have died on the southern border of the United States in the last 10 years, between November 3, 2014 and November 3, 2024, according to the open data portal of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most drowned in the Rio Bravo or Grande, the route used by the latter group.
But to get to that point, in many cases those people must cross all of Mexico from its southern border. According to IOM, 2,247 migrant deaths have been recorded in that country, 250 of which were violent.
In addition to the Cubans, there were illegal immigrants from Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic
If undocumented immigrants manage to reach northern Mexico, they must face other difficulties. Some U.S. border states have implemented new restrictive laws against illegal migration. One of them is Proposal 314 in Arizona, approved in the November 5 elections , which grants local police departments the power to arrest undocumented immigrants and issue deportation orders. In Texas there is Senate Bill 4 (SB4), which makes it a state crime to cross the border illegally from Mexico.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott has been on a crusade against illegal migration for years. In 2021 he launched Operation Lone Star to stop illegal crossings. Since its implementation, 517,900 undocumented immigrants have been detained, and more than 46,000 arrests have been made on criminal charges, according to a statement by the Texas governor last August.
In the last four years, there has been an unprecedented migratory exodus in Cuba due to the serious economic crisis – which has a lacerating impact on the shortage of food, medicine and fuel – as well as the prolonged power cuts. This has caused the departure of more than 860,000 Cuban migrants to the United States in that period alone, according to data from the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In fact, it is estimated that the population of Cuba fell by 18% between 2022 and 2023, mainly due to migration, according to a study by Cuban economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos.
With the new Trump Administration in the United States, beginning January 20, 2025, it is expected that humanitarian parole will be eliminated. It currently benefits, in addition to Cubans, citizens of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti. The program has reduced migrant encounters outside official entry points by 98%, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security. The extinction of the project would force a massive search by migrants for other, riskier ways to reach the United States.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
