History of Cuban Migration into the U.S.

Cubans are the 4th biggest group in the Latino Community in the United States, totaling around 2.4 million in 2021 according to Statistica and only 70,000 away from third place Hondurans. Cubans have a long history of migration towards the U.S., which began in the 1820s and reaching almost all-time high numbers after Covid and the July 11 protests. The history of Cuban migration into the U.S. is usually divided into 4 different periods or waves. Those four periods being:

1. Before 1959

2. Between 1959 and 1980

3. Between 1981 and 1995

4. Between 1996 and 2019

Each one of these 4 waves had different causes and effects on the Cuban Community in the U.S. as well those still in the island and are a crucial part of Cuban American History that still shapes voter interests and voting behavior.

Before 1959

The first wave of Cuban immigrants began in the 1820s mainly comprised of professionals, merchants and landowners settling in the northeast. Cuba would have 3 wars of independence between 1868 and 1895, with the third one being finally successful. During this time, around 55,000 Cubans would be admitted into the United States as they escaped military conflict in Cuba. Most of these would be Tobacco professionals as well as political refugees. Some of these political refugees would return to Cuba to fight against the Spanish, using the U.S. as a temporary base to plan their expeditions. Cuban National Hero and beloved poet José Julián Martí Pérez would be one of those political refugees working in the U.S. and then returning to Cuba to further the independence movement. The first 20 years of the 20th century would see a political crisis in Cuba that caused a 2nd American intervention, a period of economic prosperity due to the sugar harvest during WW1, as well as a deep recession following the end of the war. This period would see another 69,369 Cuban migrants being admitted into the United States. The next 20 years would see a drastic decrease in Cuban migration to the US, with only 9,571 coming into the U.S. during the 1930s and followed by 26,313 during the 1940s. The Great Depression would be at fault for such low numbers. From 1950 to 1958, Cuba would see similar migration numbers as that of the 40s, something that would definitely change on the following year.

Between 1959 and 1980

Between 1959 and 1980, three major periods would drive most of the increase in migration of Cubans into the U.S. The first of these three periods would be a reaction to Fidel Castro taking control of Cuba. The 248,100 Cuban migrants who came to the U.S. during 1959 and 1962 are referred to as “the Historical Exile”. The next period would be between December 1st, 1965, and April 6th, 1973. Negotiations between Washington and Havana would create an airbridge between Varadero and Miami during that time. The U.S. government would fund 2 daily flights, essentially bringing between 3,000 and 4,000 Cuban migrants into the U.S. These migrants were much more representative of the composition of the island as a whole, bringing in a higher share of service and blue-collar workers. These flights, nicknamed “freedom flights”, would bring around 260,600 Cuban migrants into the U.S. During the following 6 years, the flow of Cuban migrants into the U.S. would drop, with only 38,000 migrating during that time. The following year, 1980, would be a major year in Cuban American History. In April of 1980, more than 10,800 Cubans looking to migrate swarmed the Peruvian embassy in Havana. This was a major action showing the growing discontent in the island following the radicalization of the Castro Dictatorship during the 60s and 70s. Fidel Castro would use one of his favorite methods of releasing pressure building up in the island – allowing the discontented Cubans to leave, while he demonizes them in the eyes of his loyalist followers. Castro would proceed to opening the Mariel port, allowing exiles to come pick up their relatives wishing to leave the country, but there was a catch. When Cuban exiles arrived at the port to pick up their relatives, the regime forces, under the orders of Fidel, would force them to take unrelated persons back to the U.S. with them. A lot of them were prison inmates that were freed by Fidel and told that if they didn’t leave Cuba they would be sent back into prison. Around 25% of them were in prison for a multitude of reasons, some for breaking the “Peligrosidad” law which was commonly used as an oppression tool, with offenders being accused of displaying “homosexual acts” and of being prostitutes. The Exodus lasted between April 20th and September 26th of 1980, around 124,800 Cubans would arrive on American soil during that time.

Between 1980 and 1994

The decade of the 80s would be another decade of high migration of Cubans into the United States. This was due to the economic deterioration of the Soviet Union, which profoundly subsidized the Cuban economy. Thus, the deterioration of the USSR economy would create a deteriorating economy in Cuba, especially in 89’ after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Around 144,578 Cubans would come into the United States during this decade. The 1990’s would be of major importance in Cuban American history. The Soviet Union would crumble in 1991, starting a major recession in Cuba in the following years – This recession would be called “The Special Period”. This major economic recession would be the primary reason for the 61,200 Cubans that were admitted into the U.S. between 1990 and July 1994. Another 13,400 would arrive on U.S. shore with rafts during that same time. Later that same year (1994) would see a major event. Between August 13th and September 13th of 1994, 30,900 Cubans would take on the ocean with makeshift rafts and arrive in the United States; this period is called “The Balsero Crisis”. This was due to Fidel once more trying to release the political pressure mounting up against his regime by letting the discontented leave, but this time was different. The regime would experience the strongest show of civil disobedience in the history of the Communist dictatorship, (until the July 11th, 2021, protests) El Maleconazo. President Clinton didn’t want the Balsero Crisis to evolve into another Mariel Boatlifts, and he treated the crisis as a National Security issue. Washington and Havana would come to the negotiation table and ended up renewing their 1984 agreement to allow 20,000 yearly Cuban migrants, as well as another yeraly 5,000 in a visa lottery program.

Between 1995 and 2019

After the 1994 Balsero Crisis, President Clinton would implement the “wet-foot, dry-foot” (wfdf) policy. Essentially, this policy made it so that Cubans that were intercepted in the ocean on the way to the U.S. would be sent back to Cuba, while those who arrived on land would be allowed to stay. This policy would have a major impact not only in Cuban American history but also in American history, due to the effect of the Elian González case on the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore. Between 1994 and 2015, around 650,000 Cuban migrants would be admitted into the United States. The years between 2015 and 2019 would see the Obama administration’s U.S.-Cuba policies as well as Trump’s reversal on those policies. President Obama would end wfdf in one of his last actions as president, which would completely end the norm of Cuban migrants getting to the U.S. on rafts, with 0 being detained in April of 2017, 3 months after President Trump’s inauguration. Instead, Cuban migrants trying to reach the U.S. would find different routes through Central America to enter through the southern border, a method that would grow substantially in the post covid era. (follow up article on this coming soon). Between 2015 and 2016, 69,000 Cubans would show up in the southern border.

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