Cuban American Deportations In Miami
- Mar 2
- 3 min read
By Amelia Vasquez
The instances of abusive treatment to immigrants throughout the country have escalated. Notably, Minnesota has suffered significant losses at the hands of ICE agents in recent months.
And Florida, but Miami in specific, is no stranger to this phenomenon, with the exception of one group that has been broadly untouchable for decades: Cuban immigrants.
Let’s backtrack to 67 years ago, when the first wave of Cuban immigration to Florida began right after the triumph of Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959.
The state was chosen due to its 90-mile distance from Cuba.
Since then, for various reasons—such as economic hardships and the erasure of political freedoms at the hands of Cuba's government officials—Miami became the best place for these individuals to seek asylum.
This was exemplified in 1966 when U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Cuban Adjustment Act to provide Cuban immigrants with a quick path to legal residency.
Then, in 1995, President Bill Clinton enacted the “wet foot-dry foot policy,” which, according to NPR’s 2017 article, “granted Cubans who touch American soil a privilege not afforded other immigrants who come without a visa: the right to stay and get on a fast track to citizenship (Florido, 2017).”
This policy was abruptly changed by President Obama during the final stages of his administration in 2017. NPR explained that this was done in hopes of re-establishing the U.S.-Cuba relationship, as the Cuban government officials at the time did not agree with the “wet foot-dry foot policy.”
Fast forward to the present day and it appears the Trump administration and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis believe it is time to crack down on Cuban immigrants in America.
According to the New York Times, President Trump repatriated more than 1,600 Cubans in 2025, which is double the amount in 2024.
Since Miami is home to the largest concentration of Cubans outside the island, Barry students are now urged to ask: Should Cubans who have yet to become citizens be worried about their status in the U.S. under President Trump’s administration?
According to The Guardian, about 45,000 Cubans across the U.S. are believed to have been issued deportation orders.
El Oski, the Cuban-born podcaster who was such a fan of the current president that he got a tattoo of President Trump across his chest, is a recent Cuban immigrant who’s now in danger of removal.
According to a Jan. 15 broadcast on Local 10, “an estimated hundreds of thousands of Cubans who entered the United States through the southern border and were released under an immigration document known as an I-220A, rather than being formally paroled into the country (De La Rosa, 2026).”
This document is now obsolete, as the federal government does not recognize it as a lawful entry into the country. Due to this, Cubans like El Oski are in a limbo between deportation and legal residency.
“Florida has led other states in constructing facilities to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown,” according to AP News—a development that has left countless members of the student body growing afraid and anxious over the current state of immigration policy.
The Buccaneer interviewed Lisa Konczal, a sociology and criminology professor at Barry, to address the sentiment of her students.
"There's a lot of fear, especially among young students,” she said. “I work in the immigration courts here in Miami and I’ve seen ICE there, so I just think we’re all very uncertain and afraid.”
Konczal, however, is one of many people at Barry who believes in advocating for those who are unable to do so for themselves.
She explained that students should know what a legitimate judicial warrant is and understand their rights if they are confronted by these agents. A judicial warrant is a legal document signed by a judge authorizing law enforcement to conduct a search of your property. It is crucial to remember that without this, any search or seizure of your property is not only unlawful, but an infringement of one’s Fourth Amendment rights. If confronted by ICE agents, students should stay calm and disengage, especially when they are not at fault of committing any crime.
In addition to that, she reassured the student body that the administrators and professors as well as the rest of the Barry community know this is a concern.
In 2025, Katherine Doble, PR representative for Barry University, told The Buccaneer that “Barry University has an established protocol for engaging with law enforcement agencies on campus, requiring all external personnel to be directed to Campus Safety. The university also adheres to all federal regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which safeguards the privacy of student education records.”
In the face of adversity, it is crucial we rely on communities like Barry University for truth, justice and compassion. We all want to know where our neighbors are.
Comments