The U.S., Cuba, and the people caught between

Summary of The U.S., Cuba, and the people caught between

by NPR

35m•February 18, 2026
Listen to Episode

Overview of The U.S., Cuba, and the people caught between

This Code Switch episode (NPR) traces six decades of U.S.–Cuba migration policy through policy turns, political consequences, and the human stories caught in between. Using historian Ada Ferrer’s family narrative and a conversation with historian Michael Bustamante, the episode explains how Cold War-era exceptions for Cuban migrants became contested, how successive crises (Mariel, the 1990s raft exodus, COVID-era departures) reshaped migration flows, and why recent deportations and policy shifts have exposed deep generational, ideological, racial and class tensions within Cuban and Cuban‑American communities.

Key points and main takeaways

  • U.S. policy historically gave Cubans uniquely favorable immigration treatment (notably the Cuban Adjustment Act), a product of Cold War geopolitics and U.S. public diplomacy.
  • Major turning points: the 1960s exiles, the 1980 Mariel boatlift, Clinton-era migration accords (including wet-foot/dry-foot), Obama’s normalization with Cuba and the eventual end of wet-foot/dry-foot, and a massive post‑COVID exodus (2021–2025).
  • Since COVID and border reopenings, roughly 850,000 Cubans arrived in the U.S.; estimates suggest over a million left Cuba overall. That represents an unprecedented proportion of the island’s population (possibly ~10%).
  • Policy rollbacks and stricter enforcement (including record deportations under recent administrations) have left many new arrivals in legal limbo; humanitarian parole and asylum pathways have been inconsistently applied.
  • Migration flows and policy decisions have amplified fractures within the Cuban diaspora over class, race, and partisan politics: earlier waves were more middle/upper class and often white; later waves were more working-class and racially diverse.

Historical background & major policies

Cuban Adjustment Act (1960s)

  • Enacted under Johnson; text is short but powerful.
  • Allowed Cubans legally admitted/inspected into the U.S. to apply for permanent residency after a short period (initially 2 years, later reduced to 1).
  • Served U.S. Cold War messaging: showcase refuge from communism. Also reflected selective openness shaped by race/class.

Mariel boatlift (1980)

  • Triggered when asylum seekers occupied the Peruvian embassy in Havana; Castro opened Mariel Harbor for departures.
  • Over ~100,000 Cubans left for the U.S. in a few months. The cohort was more working‑class and racially diverse than the 1960s exiles.
  • The arrivals caused political backlash in the U.S., detention on military bases, local unrest (e.g., Fort Chaffee, Arkansas), and lasting political consequences (e.g., hurt Bill Clinton’s 1980 re-election bid as governor).

Clinton accords and wet-foot/dry-foot (1994)

  • Response to 1994 mass migration: U.S. agreed to accept those who reached U.S. soil, but those interdicted at sea would be returned.
  • The accords also set an annual legal visa quota (20,000), an unusually generous formal channel compared to many other countries.
  • Wet‑foot/dry‑foot became a de facto generous U.S. policy for Cubans for two decades.

Obama normalization and the policy shift

  • Obama restored diplomatic relations (historic visit to Havana in 2016) and eased some embargo restrictions — part of a broader push toward normalization.
  • As ties normalized, the thinking grew that the extraordinary immigration exception for Cubans should end; in the final weeks of the Obama administration the wet‑foot/dry‑foot policy was terminated (implemented in 2017).
  • The move was controversial and immediately politicized; some framed it as prescient, others as prematurely removing protections.

Personal story: Ada Ferrer’s family as a lens

  • Ada Ferrer (Pulitzer-winning historian) escaped Cuba as an infant (1963) with her mother; her half‑brother Poli left during the Mariel boatlift (1980).
  • Their diverging trajectories illustrate how timing of migration shaped access to education, language, social mobility, and social integration.
  • Ferrer’s forthcoming memoir (Keeper of My Kin) uses family experience to show how policy and geopolitics shape lives across generations.

The recent exodus (post‑COVID) and immediate impacts

  • COVID collapsed Cuba’s tourism-reliant economy; travel restrictions and economic distress accelerated departures once borders reopened (~late 2021 onward).
  • Estimates: over a million left Cuba since 2020; ~850,000 arrived in the U.S. by early 2025.
  • Many arrivals received humanitarian parole under Biden-era approaches, but application of parole/admissions was inconsistent — described as luck-of-the-draw.
  • Asylum is difficult to secure; many migrants lack the narrowly defined persecution cases asylum requires. The Trump administration retroactively revoked some parole benefits and increased deportations.

Political and community implications

  • Cuban‑American political alignment is complicated: early policies were created under Democratic presidents, but many Cuban Americans (especially older generations) shifted Republican over anti‑communist sentiment and perceived Democratic softness on Castro-era policies.
  • Recent record deportations of Cubans under Trump create tensions: some Cuban‑American leaders expressed discomfort, but voting shifts are uncertain. The community shows generational and ideological divisions on migration and foreign policy toward Cuba.
  • A new debate has emerged in the community about whether continued acceptance of migrants undermines U.S. “maximum pressure” strategies and whether a more restrictive posture should be embraced — a fraught stance given the community’s history of arriving via those same channels.

On-the-ground legal realities for migrants

  • Humanitarian parole: has been used for many arrivals but not consistently. Parole can be temporary and politically vulnerable.
  • Asylum: high evidentiary bar; many economic migrants or those with generalized dissent may not qualify.
  • Deportations: U.S. ability to deport depends on Cuba accepting returnees. Cuba has resisted large-scale deportations at times, complicating U.S. enforcement.
  • Result: many new arrivals face legal limbo, detention, or deportation risk depending on administration policy and timing.

Notable quotes and insights

  • “There’s nothing like it on the immigration law books to this day.” — on the Cuban Adjustment Act’s uniqueness.
  • The Mariel crisis began when “a bus driver…rammed the gates of the Peruvian embassy” — a single dramatic incident that cascaded into a mass exodus.
  • Ferrer on identity: seeing people her age in Cuba made her wonder “that’s who I might have been if we had stayed,” highlighting the personal consequences of policy-timed departures.

Resources and further reading

  • Ada Ferrer — Keeper of My Kin (memoir; forthcoming, referenced in the episode).
  • Michael Bustamante — article: “Will Cuban Americans Choose Trumpism or Solidarity?” (Public Books).
  • Historical context: research on the Cuban Adjustment Act, the Mariel boatlift (1980), and wet‑foot/dry‑foot (1994 accords).

Producer note: the episode combines personal memoir (Ada Ferrer), historian analysis (Michael Bustamante), and a succinct timeline of U.S.–Cuba migration policy to show how law, geopolitics, and human lives are tightly intertwined.