Trump Shuts Down the Last Legal Pathway for Cubans to Enter the US
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This will be CEDA’s last US-Cuba News Brief of 2025.
What is closing this year is not just another chapter in U.S.-Cuba migration policy—it is the end of an era.
Over the past month, a cascade of U.S. policy decisions has dismantled nearly every legal avenue Cubans have relied on for decades to reunite with family or seek protection in the US. As 2025 draws to a close, the Trump administration has taken actions that amount to the most sweeping rollback of lawful Cuban migration pathways since the early years of the Cold War—compounding an already precarious situation for Cubans both in the US and on the island.
As we noted in our last news brief, in early December, the Trump administration paused all immigration applications for Cubans. It has since gone further by terminating the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) program, effectively eliminating the last remaining legal pathway created specifically for Cubans to enter the US.
The CFRP program was not simply an administrative tool. For nearly two decades, it served as a stabilizing mechanism—supporting family unity, reducing irregular migration, and providing a lawful alternative to dangerous journeys.
This decision follows the Trump administration’s decision in March to revoke the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) Parole Program, which allowed 110,970 Cubans to enter the country. Together, these moves mark a significant blow to the Cuban community.
The termination of the CFRP program will be challenged in court by the co-counsel in the ongoing Svitlana Doe v. Noem class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of humanitarian parole beneficiaries and their sponsors. In the meantime, options for Cubans seeking protection in the US have narrowed considerably.
President Trump has also paused or curtailed protection programs for refugees and asylum seekers such as the asylum system and the United States Refugee Admission Program (USRAP). Both are still in operation, but have been greatly restricted in capacity. USRAP, for example, has been capped at just 7,500 admissions for 2026—down from 125,360 in 2024 under former President Joe Biden—and is now largely reserved for white South Africans. The asylum program continues to conduct interviews but is no longer granting or denying asylum for any nationality.
Furthermore, the end of the CFRP program disproportionately affects children, who were among its primary beneficiaries. Eligible family members included the child, spouse, or parent of a U.S.-based petitioner. Although the government has not released comprehensive data on how many Cubans were paroled through the program, 24,901 Cubans entered the US with immigrant visas in calendar year 2024 alone.
Although the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) remains in effect, as it is a law passed by Congress and cannot be unilaterally revoked by the President, it has been functionally undermined. The CAA requires Cubans to be physically present in the US for at least one year before they can adjust their status and apply for permanent residency—now a near-impossible requirement to meet as legal entry pathways effectively disappear. Compounding this barrier, a 2023 decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that thousands of recent Cuban arrivals who entered the US through the Southern border and were released with an I-220A immigration document were ineligible to adjust under the CAA, leaving them with virtually no pathway to permanent residency.
As access to the US becomes more restricted for Cubans, deportations of those already living in the country without legal status have intensified, including removals to Mexico and even distant countries such as South Sudan and Eswatini. A new report from the ACLU documents the stories of four Cubans who say they were beaten and threatened at Fort Bliss for refusing deportation to Mexico. Other Cubans have been deported alongside third-country nationals to places such as Villahermosa, Mexico—often after decades living in the US and, in some cases, following the revocation of lawful permanent resident status due to criminal convictions.
Local reporting from southern Mexico indicates that shelters are now receiving older Cuban deportees, some with serious health conditions or cognitive impairments, who face prolonged uncertainty and limited prospects for reintegration. In a previous news brief, we reported on a Cuban man who arrived in the US as an infant during the Freedom Flights of the late 1960s who has now been deported to Mexico, a country he barely knows. As of July, Mexico had received 6,525 third-country deportees.
Historically, periods of restriction in U.S.–Cuba migration policy were accompanied by at least one legal release valve—whether family reunification, parole programs, or refugee admissions. The current moment is distinct in that nearly all such mechanisms have been curtailed simultaneously. The cumulative effect is to push migration into irregular channels, increase family separation, and heighten humanitarian risk.
These policy changes are unfolding against a backdrop of deepening economic hardship on the island. Cuba is entering its fifth consecutive year of recession, leaving many citizens struggling with shortages and rising costs.
Taken together, these developments underscore how U.S. migration policy, enforcement decisions, and the absence of meaningful economic reform on the island intersect to shape the lived realities of Cubans at home and across the diaspora.
As 2025 comes to a close, the need for clear, careful, and historically informed analysis of U.S.-Cuba policy has only intensified. This brief exists to help readers like you navigate a fast-moving and often opaque policy landscape. It is grounded in institutional memory, rigorous research, fact-checking, and context—garnered from close engagement with affected communities—that too often gets lost in the daily news cycle.
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This week in Cuba news…
Trump Administration Ends Family Reunification Parole Program for Cubans and Haitians
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement on December 12, announcing the termination of family reunification parole programs for migrants from seven countries, including Cuba, effectively terminating the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) program. Migrants who utilized these programs and are in the US will lose their legal status on January 14 unless they applied for permanent residency or an adjustment of status before December 15, 2025.
The CFRP program was created in 2007. It allowed U.S.-based petitioners with approved family visa petitions for Cubans to start the parole application process for their relatives in Cuba. It was paused by the Trump administration in 2018, which resulted in many Cubans traveling to the US-Mexico border. The program resumed processing pending applications in 2022, at which point it had a backlog of 22,000 cases. In 2023, DHS updated the program, granting parole for up to three years. Due to the lack of public data, it is unclear how many Cubans are in the US through this program.
The CFRP program had already been impacted by the June 9 travel ban that included Cuba. Even after a family reunification application is approved, beneficiaries must obtain a visa to travel to the US to finalize the process. Since the ban took effect, Cubans have reported those visas are being denied, greatly inhibiting the CFRP program and leaving many Cubans feeling betrayed by the Trump administration. In response, a group of Cubans in South Florida took to the streets in late November to protest the new restrictions and their impact on family reunification.
The DHS argues that this decision will “end the abuse” of humanitarian parole and that the family reunification parole programs “had security gaps caused by insufficient vetting that malicious and fraudulent actors could exploit to enter the United States.” Individuals granted parole under family reunification parole programs have already completed the vetting process for a regular immigration visa and received approval.
Rep. Salazar Rebukes Trump’s Immigration Application Pause
On December 7, Representative María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) broke from the Republican party to criticize the Trump administration’s decision to pause all asylum and immigration-related applications from nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and 16 other countries, calling this action “un-American” and a form of “collective punishment.” Rep. Salazar made the remarks in a statement to the Miami Herald.
“Freezing asylum, green card, and citizenship processes is not the answer,” Rep. Salazar said. “It punishes hardworking, law-abiding immigrants who followed every step of the legal process. That is unfair, un-American, and goes against everything this country stands for.” She added that existing background checks are sufficient to address national security concerns.
This development comes on the heels of a historic political shift in Miami, where a Democrat was elected mayor for the first time in decades. Rep. Salazar’s remarks mark a notable departure from her previously unwavering support for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and sharply contrast with the positions of her fellow Cuban American Representatives from South Florida, Carlos Giménez (FL-28) and Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26). The two lawmakers released a joint statement supporting the pause, arguing it was a necessary response to what they described as former President Biden’s failure to secure the border.
Cuban Migrants Describe Beatings and Coercion at Fort Bliss
Four Cuban migrants detained at Fort Bliss, Texas, say they were beaten and threatened for refusing deportation to Mexico, according to a December 8 letter sent by various advocacy groups to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The letter is based on interviews with detainees and includes sworn declarations from the four Cuban men, who say they were pressured to accept removal to a country where they have no legal status.
According to the declarations, two of the Cubans were assaulted inside the detention facility after refusing to sign documents agreeing to deportation. One said guards locked him in a room, slammed him to the ground, handcuffed him, and put him on a bus to the border. Another reported that the guards slammed his head against a wall and twisted his ankles and genitals. The men say they were then shackled and taken to the US–Mexico border without proper written notice.
At the border, the detainees said masked men pressured them to voluntarily cross into Mexico, threatening imprisonment or deportation to other countries if they refused. While many detainees complied, the four Cuban men did not and were returned to Fort Bliss. Internal ICE records reviewed by the Washington Post confirm the Cubans resisted removal on or around the dates described. ICE has denied the abuse allegations.
Advocacy groups say the incidents reflect broader problems at Fort Bliss, ICE’s largest detention center, which has drawn scrutiny since opening earlier this year. A September Washington Post report found the facility violated 60 federal detention standards within its first 50 days. Detainees report food shortages, lack of medical care, and limited access to legal resources. ICE and the DHS dispute claims of inhumane conditions.
US Transfers 22 Cuban Migrants to Guantánamo Bay
On December 14, 22 Cubans were moved from a detention facility in Louisiana to Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, marking the first time Cubans have been held at the U.S. detention facility on their own island, as reported by The New York Times. Since February, roughly 730 migrants have been detained at Guantánamo Bay.
The group included five men labeled “high-threat illegal aliens” by a Defense Department official granted anonymity. Their identities have not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether they will be repatriated to Cuba.
The base has been empty since mid-October when 18 migrants were deported to El Salvador and Guatemala, emptying the detention site just days before Hurricane Melissa was expected to reach Cuba. Those migrants had only been at the base for four days.
Former Cuban Minister Sentenced to Life in Prison
Cuba’s Supreme Court has sentenced former Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil Fernández to life in prison on espionage charges, along with an additional 20-year sentence for corruption-related crimes, according to a statement issued by the court on December 8. The court accused him of “deceiving the country’s leadership and the people,” and causing significant economic damage. The sentence is the harshest imposed on a high-ranking Cuban official in decades.
The corruption charges include document falsification, tax evasion, and bribery. Cuban authorities did not disclose who Gil was allegedly spying for, and the trial was held behind closed doors despite public calls for transparency. Gil was dismissed from his post in February 2024 and had not appeared publicly prior to the trial.
Gil was once considered a close ally of President Díaz-Canel’s and oversaw several of Cuba’s most significant but controversial economic reforms between 2018 and 2024. He oversaw the controversial Tarea Ordenamiento (Reorganization Task), a sweeping reform intended to modernize the economy but widely cited as a contributing factor to Cuba’s ongoing economic crisis.
The court said both Gil and the Prosecutor's Office have ten days to file an appeal. Gil’s sister, María Victoria Gil, told CiberCuba that authorities have begun confiscating family assets, including Gil’s home, his mother’s house, a nephew’s car, and his bank accounts. She said the family has filed an appeal and plans to take the case to international bodies if the ruling is upheld.
Cuba Legalizes Domestic Use of the Dollar Under New Currency Controls
Cuba’s government announced that it will legalize the use of the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies for domestic transactions for the first time in more than two decades, marking a significant shift in monetary policy. The change was formalized through Decree-Law 113/2025, published on December 11 as part of a broader package of foreign‑currency regulations. As noted by the Cuba Study Group, “These rules mainly formalize existing practices—notably the use of foreign currencies—and eliminate internal barriers.”
Under the new framework, the Central Bank of Cuba and the Ministry of Economy and Planning must authorize foreign-currency payments, accounts, and transactions for state enterprises and private actors. Private entities will be permitted to retain up to 80 percent of their foreign-currency earnings, while the remaining 20 percent will be retained by the state and converted to Cuban pesos. Officials have described the measure as temporary and necessary to help manage severe hard-currency shortages.
Cuban economist Pedro Monreal has noted that the introduction of a new “daily floating rate” alongside existing fixed rates could have mixed effects on purchasing power and competitiveness. He argues that the overvalued fixed rate of 1 USD = 24 CUP in particular limits Cuba’s economic competitiveness and that more information is needed to assess the full impact of the reforms on markets and incomes.
Cuba Denounces U.S. Seizure of Oil Tanker, Warns of Economic Impact
Cuba has strongly condemned the recent U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The tanker was reportedly carrying nearly two million barrels of Venezuelan crude, of which 1.1 million were headed to Cuba.
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla described the U.S. interception of the oil tanker as “piracy and maritime terrorism.” They said the operation is “hampering Venezuela's legitimate right to freely use and trade its natural resources” and represents part of a broader U.S. policy of “maximum pressure and economic suffocation,” which directly affects Cuba’s national power system. The island has faced five nationwide blackouts in the past year, including a major outage on December 3 that left millions without power in western Cuba and parts of Havana.
The seizure coincides with a Truth Social post from President Trump calling for a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, escalating pressure on Caracas. Venezuela has denounced the blockade as a threat to its sovereignty and appealed to the United Nations for intervention.
Observers warn the disruption of Venezuelan oil shipments could worsen Cuba’s already fragile economy. However, William LeoGrande, Professor of Government at American University and an expert in Latin American affairs, cautioned that cutting off Venezuelan oil is unlikely to topple the Cuban government. He notes that while the loss would deepen economic hardship, “misery doesn’t automatically translate into rebellion. It can instead reinforce a siege mentality among elites or lead to political disengagement among citizens focused on survival. In the worst case, it could precipitate a failed state.”
Cuba Denies Reported Talks With US on Venezuela’s Future
On December 5, Reuters reported that Cuba’s government reached out to the US to discuss the future of Venezuela without President Nicolas Maduro in power, citing two anonymous sources. Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Josefina Vidal, denied the report on December 8, calling the claims “absurd and false.” She said Cuba remains aligned with Venezuela’s government and respects its sovereignty.
The report emerged amid rising tensions following a chain of U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. U.S. officials say the strikes—26 as of December 18 to be exact—targeted drug-trafficking boats and resulted in at least 99 deaths. Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the operations on X, warning they are part of a broader effort to undermine what he called a legitimate Venezuelan government.
Recommended Reading, Viewing, Events
📖 Read | AP (Spanish): Cubanos piden en peregrinación a San Lázaro o a Babalú Ayé prosperidad y salud frente a epidemias
📖 Read | El País: ‘We are dying’: Cuba sinks into a health crisis amid medicine shortages and misdiagnosis
📖 Read | NYT: Behind the Seized Venezuelan Tanker, Cuba’s Secret Lifeline
🎧 Listen | Wbur: Freedom Flights from Cuba took off 60 years ago
