Deportations of Cubans from the United States continue: 82 repatriated this Thursday

The deportation of Cubans from the United States continues and will continue under the administration of US President Donald Trump. This Thursday, 82 Cubans were repatriated to the island, one of the most shocking cases being a mother of a nursing baby.

According to note official, Cuba received this Thursday 82 irregular migrants deported from the United States, the fourth such operation carried out since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term.

The group —composed of 74 men and 8 women— was returned to the Caribbean country by air, as part of the bilateral migration agreements between Havana and Washington, according to state television.

With this operation, they already add up 15 Cuban migrants returned from several countries in the region so far 2025, reaching a total of 450 people returned to the island.

This particular flight was notable for a case that impacted public opinion among Cubans on the island and in Miami. It involved a young mother of a nursing baby who was detained in Tampa and then transferred to a deportation center.

Heydi Sánchez Tejeda, a Cuban mother married to a U.S. citizen, was deported Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after being detained during a routine appointment at immigration offices in Tampa.

The woman, who was still breastfeeding her one-year-old daughter, was repatriated to Cuba, while the child remains in the United States in the care of her father, American citizen Carlos Yuniel Valle.

Deportations of Cubans from the United States will continue

Deportation flights from the U.S.—suspended since 2020—resumed in April 2023, primarily for Cuban migrants deemed inadmissible after being detained at the Mexican border.

According to recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 2024 Cubans arrived in the United States during fiscal year 217.615, while 8.261 new arrivals were recorded last October alone.

In the last four years, more than 860.000 Cuban migrants have entered the U.S., revealing an unprecedented migration exodus driven by Cuba's severe economic crisis, characterized by food, medicine, and fuel shortages, high inflation, frequent blackouts, and growing dollarization.