WASHINGTON, USA – In response to the news of the reopening of a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field office in Cuba, the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) released the following statement:
“CDA welcomes the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement that USCIS will reopen its international field office in Havana, Cuba after nearly five years. The restoration of USCIS operations in Havana will support the processing of Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) cases–including the backlog of approximately 20,000 applications–and bolster critical access to regular, streamlined, and safe migration channels for Cubans. We applaud the administration’s efforts to improve the efficiency and accessibility of the CFRP program for beneficiaries in Cuba.
“This policy change comes at a particularly critical time in which the demand for migration out of Cuba far outstrips the available mechanisms to migrate regularly. The numbers alone are testament to this: since FY 2020, approximately 450,000 Cubans have attempted entrance into the United States. CDA has advocated for the reestablishment of the USCIS field office in Havana since its closure in 2018 and issued repeated calls for its reestablishment in the wake of unprecedented migration from Cuba. Providing pathways for Cubans to migrate under safe and orderly conditions, allowing Cuban American families to reunite with their loved ones, and rebuilding necessary infrastructure in Havana are necessary steps to promoting humanitarian and national security interests, as well as supporting the Cuban people.
“As the administration moves forward with this much-welcomed change, CDA also underscores the need to keep all pathways to protection open, and for the administration to respect US domestic and international refugee law obligations, including preserving access to asylum at US borders. To adequately address Cuban migration and promote the intended impact of expanded USCIS services, we urge the administration to continue pursuing effective and protection-sensitive migration policies in conjunction with a policy of engagement and dialogue with Cuba.”