More than 200,000 Cubans entered the United States in the fiscal year just ended, between October 1, 2022, and September 30, according to information from the Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published this Saturday. A total, of 200,287 Cubans requested political asylum in the territory of the United States.
September was the month with the highest influx of Cubans at US borders, with a total of 15,677 people. In August, June, and January, border encounters exceeded 10,000.
After the application of humanitarian parole by the Joe Biden Administration in January, the arrival of migrants from the Island to the border of the United States and Mexico has decreased significantly. The previous months (October, November, and December 2022, the first of the fiscal year 2023) are the ones with the greatest influx of Cubans. before program approval (29,882, 35,880, and 47,079 respectively).
The majority of Cubans (142,352) entered the US territory through the southern border (Mexico)while an influx of 490 Cubans was recorded along the northern border (Canada).
After the entry into force of the program implemented by Biden, In January, arrests of undocumented Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans attempting to cross the border illegally decreased by 97% compared to the last month of 2022.
However, the challenge of parole before the US courts, as well as the accumulation of applications without resolution, has created a new avalanche of migrants.
At the end of August, CBP reported that 41,000 Cubans had arrived in the United States through the program, where more than 1.5 million people applied, 380,000 of them Cubans. This number of applications prevents the process carried out by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (USCIS) from being carried out without delay. In one day, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security, about 1,200 cases are reviewed, while between 10,000 and 12,000 applications are submitted.
