So far this year, 3,499 irregular migrants from Mexico, the United States, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands have been returned to Cuba, the authorities of the Caribbean country reported this Friday.
The last of the 82 operations of this type occurred this Friday when 36 Cubans returned from Mexico, which adds up to 1,318 deportees from that country, according to Cuban immigration authorities.
The Department of Customs and Border Protection of the United States (CBP, for its acronym in English) reported, in turn, that only in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, 140,602 migrants from the Island have arrived in that territory.
Cuba points to the Cuban Adjustment Act as a reason for citizens to try to reach the United States irregularly
The figure exceeds the largest exodus of Cubans to date, in 1980, when 125,000 people left through the port of Mariel in just seven months.
Cuba points to the Cuban Adjustment Act as a reason for citizens to try to reach the United States irregularly by land or sea.
This regulation allows access to permanent residence in the United States to Cubans who remain at least one year in its territory.
It also accuses the United States of promoting migratory flows and of failing to comply with bilateral agreements on this matter.
Experts link the increase in the departure of Cubans in the first place with the serious economic crisis that Cuba is going through.
Experts link the increase in the departure of Cubans in the first place with the serious economic crisis that Cuba is going through
Experts link the increase in the departure of Cubans in the first place with the serious economic crisis that Cuba is going through In March of this year, the Cayman Islands also began to warn about an increase in the arrival of Cuban migrants to its territory, after the arrival of four boats with 41 people.
A month later, the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) warned that if the current trend of arrival of Cuban immigrants continues, more funds will be needed for their care, which has already generated more than $450,000 so far this year.
The largest influx of Cuban immigrants to the Cayman Islands was recorded between 1993 and 1995, when more than 2,000 Cubans passed through the archipelago, most of them entering through the island of Cayman Brac.
In 2015, the governments of the Cayman Islands and Cuba signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes the repatriation process, but this can be delayed by the authorization of repatriation from Cuba and delays in responding to asylum appeals, according to the director of the CBC Charles Clifford.
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory, located between Cuba and the coast of Honduras, with a population of just over 55,000.
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