Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Many Exiles in Miami Worry about Deportation

Fears rise as the country revives relations with Havana.

By Nora Gamez Torres And Alfonso Chardy

President Barack Obama's order to normalize relations with Cuba has spread fear through the ranks of thousands of Cuban exiles facing deportation to the island.

Many of those who have never become U.S. citizens now believe their removal, a remote possibility before, may now be imminent. Immigration authorities say there are 34,525 Cubans with final orders of deportation and an additional 2,264 with pending removal cases in immigration court.

Under U.S. immigration law, foreign nationals can be deported if they have a final order of deportation, meaning the order has withstood appeals and other legal challenges. Foreigners with pending cases in immigration court generally cannot be deported.

While U.S. officials say they have not changed policies barring deportation of most Cubans to the island, those assurances are small comfort for the people in the midst of proceedings or who have final orders of expulsion.

"I became worried the day they ordered me deported," said Luis, a 73-year-old exile who in the 1960s participated in covert U.S. operations against the Fidel Castro regime. "But now, when the president in the White House wants relations with Cuba, my worries are much deeper."

The majority of the 34,525 Cubans with final deportation orders received them after having been convicted of a serious crime. Luis spent two years in prison for a drug-related conviction in the 1980s.

Luis's Miami immigration attorney, Grisel Ybarra, says she and other immigration attorneys are getting an increasing number of calls from Cubans who fear deportation because of a criminal record. Ybarra and other immigration attorneys said exiles in deportation proceedings or with final orders of expulsion should reach out to immigration attorneys as soon as possible to explore legal options.

In Luis' case, for example, Ybarra is seeking to obtain U.S. citizenship. Under U.S. immigration law, foreign-born members of the U.S. armed forces can become citizens if they served during a designated period of hostility.

However, Luis did not receive any paperwork from the U.S. military, because his work was covert.

"That's going to be the challenge," said Ybarra.

Another case Ybarra is handling involves a prosperous Cuban businessman who can only be identified as Rey, 71.

Rey received a final order of deportation because in 1987 he was convicted on drug-related charges. He served 5 years in prison and 5 years probation.

Since then, Rey has rehabilitated himself, becoming a successful entrepreneur in South Florida.

Ybarra said her strategy is to seek the reopening of Rey's case to try to persuade an immigration judge that her client has built "equities" since his conviction that would make him eligible to stay in the United States. These can include having a spouse and children who are U.S. citizens or owning a company with a several employees _ two conditions that Rey satisfies.

For now, U.S. deportation policies toward Cuba remain unchanged, despite Obama's announcement.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not changed its removal policies for Cuban nationals ordered removed," said Barbara Gonzalez, ICE senior adviser to Latin America. "ICE operations remain the same."

Gonzalez added that for now, the only Cubans being systematically removed to the island are those on a list of 2,746 people agreed upon by Washington and Havana in 1984. Of those 2,746 Cubans, most from the 1980 Mariel boatlift era, 1,999 have been deported to the island so far, Gonzalez said.

(c)2015 Miami Herald

 

Special Projects