Human Rights Watch Highlights Deportation Risks for Cubans in Mexico

The Trump administration has deported nearly 13,000 Cubans, Venezuelans, and individuals from other countries to Mexico. These deportees face significant danger from cartel violence in a country unfamiliar to them. This is according to a report by Human Rights Watch released on Wednesday.

Mexico has accepted such deportations for years, but those deported under the current U.S. administration tend to be older and have lived longer in the United States. This makes it harder for them to find employment and increases the urgency for medical care.

The report, based on over 50 interviews conducted in southern Mexico’s Tapachula and Villahermosa, is published amid a widespread immigration crackdown led by U.S. President Donald Trump. This initiative targets immigrants previously not in jeopardy, including Cubans who have lived many years or even decades in the United States. Certain countries, like Cuba and Venezuela, restrict deportation flights or refuse to accept deportees entirely. In such cases, they are sent to Mexico or other countries that have agreements with the U.S.

Imagine being 60 or 70 years old, abruptly taken from your life and sent to a country you’ve never known, where authorities leave you without access to basic services, such as shelter and healthcare. Imagine being left in dangerous cities with merely the clothes on your back, said Alcira Hava, a Leonard H. Sandler fellow at Human Rights Watch involved in compiling the report. This is the reality for many Cubans deported to Mexico, Hava added.

Cubans make up the largest group sent to Mexico, with over 4,300 deportees. More than half of the 41 Cubans interviewed had lived in the U.S. since the 1980s or 1990s, arriving during the Mariel boatlift or through a 1990s lottery program. Most had lost their permanent residency cards. Over half had criminal records, but only 16% were for violent crimes. A quarter had no criminal history.

Most were detained during routine checks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while others were taken from workplaces or public spaces. None were brought before a judge to contest their deportation to Mexico, even when expressing fears for their safety.

The Cuban diaspora, with its expedited path to residency and citizenship through the Cuban Adjustment Act, is shocked by the magnitude of Trump’s immigration enforcement.

In Mexico, these deportees are sent to southern cities with few job opportunities, limited access to healthcare, and where cartels exploit them. They face a complex process for seeking refugee status in Mexico, assuming they even qualify. According to shelter worker Josué Leal, a shelter in Villahermosa has seen deportees as old as 83 in the past year, which is a departure from the young men and families it usually accommodates.

Leal described the situation as a double punishment, stating, the United States discards them. Cuba discards them.

The specifics of deporting to a third country are unclear, as neither the U.S. nor Mexico has publicly disclosed the agreement. HRW urges both countries to publish the agreement and ensure these cases follow due process and international law.

The organization also called on Mexico to guarantee medical treatment access and a pathway for those unable to return to their home countries to regularize their immigration status. Similarly, it urged the United States to halt these deportations unless such assurances are in place.