Cubans deported and at risk of deportation under the Trump administration
So far in 2025, 13 returns from various countries in the region have occurred, totaling 367 repatriated Cubans. However, the end of humanitarian parole, the disabling of CBP One border enforcement, the cessation of Temporary Protected Status, and the legal limbo faced by those who received I-220A and I-220B visas put thousands of Cubans at risk of deportation.
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End of humanitarian parole?
On April 15, federal judge Indira Talwani temporarily halted the Trump administration’s cancellation of the Humanitarian Parole Program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, established by the Biden administration. The Boston District judge—a daughter of immigrants, by the way—ruled that immigrants from those nations can remain in the United States and continue applying for work permits and adjustment of status. Government lawyers said they will appeal the ruling.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the phase-out of the Humanitarian Parole Program, allowing certain migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to live and work temporarily in the United States. Those who arrived under this measure will have until April 24 to regularize their immigration status or face deportation.
As of December 2024, the last full month of Biden’s presidency, a total of 531,690 people had benefited from the program. This figure includes 110,240 Cubans, 211,040 Haitians, 93,070 Nicaraguans, and 117,330 Venezuelans who flew legally to U.S. airports, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The government canceled this program at the end of March. Once the 30-day period elapses, DHS can deport anyone who lacks a legal basis to remain in the United States unless they have initiated a process to legalize their status.
Since Cubans are eligible to apply for residency one year after entering the United States—thanks to the Cuban Adjustment Act, which grants them this privilege and is not applicable to other nationalities—those who entered under parole before April 2024 and initiated the process of changing their status will likely be spared the announced deportation. Still, approximately 10,000 to 12,000 Cubans entered after that date and are subject to expulsion from the country.
CBP One Disabled, CBP Home Now Available
The CBP One border app has greatly assisted hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Since January 2023, more than 936,500 people have used it to schedule appointments at ports of entry. This enables them to begin processing before arriving at the border crossing, thereby reducing wait times and streamlining the process.
Last January, the Trump administration disabled the app and canceled scheduled appointments. In March, DHS converted the CBP One app to CBP Home. The tool previously used by migrants seeking asylum in the United States has been transformed into an app where migrants can report their intention to “self-deport.”
“If they fail to do so, they will face consequences,” said a DHS spokesperson. “That includes a $998 fine for each day the illegal alien remains after the final removal order.”
Between January 2023 and November 2024, approximately 110,970 Cubans applied through CBP One, were screened, and authorized to enter the US; however, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, only 11,240 were ultimately granted parole.
Now, the government is taking extreme measures to pressure some migrants who had legal status to opt for “self-deportation” by canceling their Social Security numbers. This would suspend critical financial services like bank accounts, credit cards, and government benefits like Medicare and Medicaid. Last week, approximately 6,300 migrants were affected by this measure.
Separately, the acting director of the Social Security Administration (SSA) agreed to provide DHS with the names and addresses of 98,000 migrants for possible deportation, marking an unusual collaboration between this popular agency, which primarily provides benefits to retired and disabled Americans, and a law enforcement agency.
Farewell to Temporary Protected Status
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration benefit established by the United States government for individuals of specific nationalities who cannot safely return to their countries of origin due to ongoing armed conflicts, natural disasters, or other extraordinary temporary circumstances.
Just days after taking office, Trump also terminated these protections. As ordered by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, protections for approximately 300,000 Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries ended on April 7, after which they could face deportation. Another 250,000, who have been beneficiaries since 2021, will lose their TPS in September.
On March 31, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for 350,000 Venezuelan migrants.
Although Cuba has not been officially designated for TPS, some of its citizens may have obtained it through other means, such as families with mixed nationalities, like Venezuelan-Cuban, although their number is relatively small.
Which Cubans are most at risk of deportation?
According to ICE data, during fiscal year 2024, which ended on September 30, 217,615 Cubans arrived in the United States. In October, U.S. border authorities recorded 8,261 Cubans. Over the last four years, more than 860,000 migrants from the island have entered the U.S.
The Cubans most likely to be deported by the Trump Administration are those with humanitarian parole, as well as those who benefited from CBP One and have not applied for the Cuban Adjustment Act. Additionally, those with I-220B and I-220A statuses also have a high probability of being deported.
Form I-220B is a document for foreign nationals to request an “Order of Supervision” that allows them to remain temporarily in the country, even if they have a deportation order. It is equivalent to parole. As a result, those who receive it do not risk detention, deportation, or removal during this process. Through Form I-220B, recipients gain permission to work legally in the country and obtain a driver’s license while their process progresses.
Form I-220A is an “Order of Parole” granted by the U.S. government to individuals released by immigration officials. It includes requirements and conditions in exchange for release, such as attending immigration court hearings. If a foreign national with an I-220A initiates a court proceeding and it does not conclude favorably, they can apply for an Order of Supervision through Form I-220B.
On September 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals determined that Form I-220A is considered conditional parole and is, therefore, legally distinct from humanitarian parole. Only humanitarian parole allows Cubans to adjust their immigration status under the Cuban Adjustment Act. As a result, Cubans who received Form I-220A after entering illegally through the U.S. southern border now face the reality that, at least for the time being, they cannot apply for residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
It is estimated that, from 2021 to early 2025, between 200,000 and 500,000 Cubans received Form I-220A upon release from ICE detention.
The exact number of Cubans who have received Form I-220B, which allows them to remain temporarily in the country even if they have a deportation order, is not publicly available.
Deportations within the framework of bilateral agreements
On March 27, a new group of irregular migrants arrived in Cuba by air from the United States. It was the third such return since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in January of this year. This time, 60 individuals were returned: 55 men and five women.
According to official Cuban sources, the operation took place “as part of the bilateral migration agreements” already in place between the governments of Washington and Havana. The Ministry of the Interior specified that there have now been 13 returns from various countries in the region in 2025, including the two previous ones from the United States on January 23 and February 27. A total of 367 people have returned to Cuba.
In 2024, 93 returns were conducted from various countries in the region, resulting in a total of 1,384 irregular migrants being returned.
In April 2023, deportation flights resumed, primarily for individuals deemed “inadmissible” after being detained at the United States-Mexico border.
At the conclusion of a round of bilateral immigration talks between Cuba and the United States on December 4, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío stated that the Cubans who have fled to the United States “are driven by two fundamental reasons: the privileged treatment that the United States has always granted to any Cuban seeking to enter the country by any means, whether legally or illegally, which is called a pull factor, and a push factor, which is a policy of economic blockade aimed at depressing the living standards of Cubans living in Cuba.”
Cuba raised concerns about the number of Cubans in the United States in legal limbo who have been admitted to the United States but have not been granted concrete legal status. For us, this is an important issue,” said Fernández de Cossío.
In a recent appearance on national television, Cossío recalled that there are immigration agreements between Havana and Washington; therefore, deportations “must be carried out within the framework established in the agreements,” he said. “These agreements include commitments such as the issuance of a minimum of 20,000 visas per year for Cubans, the return to Cuba of individuals intercepted on the high seas, and deportation flights for those the United States considers to be illegally present in its territory,” he clarified. These individuals are considered “unacceptable” and are returned to the island under established procedures.
Cossío argued that “it is absurd and unfair that the United States is threatening to deport large numbers of Cubans en masse, given the existence of migration agreements that have worked well in the past, although the issuance of no fewer than 20,000 visas per year has not been met in recent years.” Finally, he reaffirmed: “Our country is open to accepting returns, but always within the agreed terms.”
So far, “the house remains the same.” We’ll see how returns to Cuba and “self-deportations” play out in the future, but thousands of undocumented Cubans in the U.S. are at risk. There have been 13 returns from different countries in the region so far in 2025, totaling 367 repatriated. However, the end of humanitarian parole, the disabling of CBP One border enforcement, the cessation of Temporary Protected Status, and the legal limbo of those who received I-220A and I-220B visas put thousands of Cubans at risk of deportation or having their hopes of rebuilding their lives in that country disrupted.
