Cuban Migrant Forced to Choose Between Deportation and Return to Cuba After Five Years in U.S.

When Liexer De La Cruz walked into a federal courtroom in Miami on Jan. 9, he expected a routine immigration hearing. Instead, he was forced to make a life-changing decision in a matter of seconds: voluntarily return to Cuba or remain in the United States while facing the constant threat of deportation. He was not given a chance to speak with his wife and sister, who were waiting outside.

The decision brought a sudden end to five years of building a life in America. De La Cruz had traveled through nearly a dozen countries by foot, car, bus, and boat to reach the country. He remembered crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas with his wife in August 2021, where they obtained official immigration paperwork in the hope of eventually applying for green cards under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

"The first thing I did was call my aunt and I told her, ‘I’m in the United States. I’m in the United States.’ And we began to cry," he recalled.

Historically, Cuban migrants have been granted a preferential pathway to U.S. citizenship through the Cuban Adjustment Act, but enforcement has tightened under the second Trump administration. According to a report by ReliefWeb, more than 500,000 Cubans issued the same I-220A form as De La Cruz are left with an uncertain status while courts debate whether the document qualifies under the law.

After entering the country, De La Cruz and his wife settled in South Florida near his family. His wife worked as a cook, and he trained to become a certified electrician, taking job assignments as far away as Kentucky and Nebraska. His earnings allowed him to buy shoes and other essential goods for his two daughters in Cuba. The couple planned to eventually bring their teenage daughters—his two and her one—to live with them in the U.S., where they could have reliable food, water, and electricity.

That goal dissolved when the judge pressed him for an answer. De La Cruz made his choice on the spot. When he exited the courtroom, he did not need to tell his wife and sister what had transpired; the expression on his face revealed that he had agreed to return to Cuba.

De La Cruz grew up in the rural town of Las Minas, located about 30 minutes from Havana. As a child, he hunted birds, fished for tilapia, and climbed trees. At age 16, he fell roughly 15 meters (50 feet) from a mango tree and fractured his spine, though he made a full recovery.

He later trained as an industrial equipment repairman but chose to work in a factory manufacturing PVC pipes to earn more money. He eventually became a paramedic—a job he found fulfilling, though it paid only $24 a month—before turning to driving a taxi.

By age 34, struggling with low wages, severe gasoline shortages, and a declining healthcare system, De La Cruz began contemplating leaving the island.

"I was becoming disillusioned," he said. "Every Cuban … from the moment they’re born, is thinking about going to the United States. ... If you go there with a positive mindset, focused on getting ahead and improving yourself, you’ll achieve many good things."

In late 2019, De La Cruz and his wife left Cuba, initially trying to build a life in Suriname, Guyana, and Brazil. After failing to secure stable employment or legal residency, they departed for the U.S. in May 2021. The three-month trek included walking through the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, which De La Cruz described as "a very dangerous jungle where many people die." Along the trail, they passed a human skeleton and the body of a Cuban woman who had recently died and been covered with leaves.

"I won’t forget that," he said.

De La Cruz was ultimately unable to achieve his dream of starting a handyman business in America. He was granted 120 days to leave the country. Meanwhile, his sister and niece, who had entered the U.S. through the same process, were granted parole and later received green cards.

As his deadline approached, friends encouraged him to move to Canada or Mexico, but De La Cruz was exhausted and unwilling to start over again in a new country. He was also grieving his mother, who had died while he was in the U.S., and wanted to visit her grave. "I already missed my city so much, I couldn’t take it anymore," he said.

His wife initially planned to stay in the U.S. to work and send money to support him in Cuba. However, a week before his departure, she revealed her plan: "I booked a ticket for the same day as you, on the same flight as you, and in the seat next to you." He grew tearful remembering the moment.

Upon arriving in Havana, the ongoing national crisis was immediately visible in the airport terminal, where the bathroom was dimly lit and the paint was peeling. The couple moved into his late mother’s house in Las Minas, and he purchased a solar-powered tricycle to resume working as a taxi driver. The vehicle offers a crucial alternative during fuel shortages caused by a U.S. energy embargo, which has severely disrupted public transit.

Frequent power outages often last longer than 24 hours, requiring De La Cruz to use solar panels to charge his tricycle. Because a full charge takes eight hours, he frequently loses a full day of work. He also provides free rides to passengers who cannot afford the fare. "I don’t like leaving anyone behind," he said.

His main difficulty is buying enough food. "The food here is too expensive, the prices very high," he noted, adding that he also had to invest in water storage tanks due to chronic municipal supply issues. At the same time, keeping in touch with his grandmother, a legal U.S. resident, has become difficult as telecommunications across Cuba deteriorate.

Despite the hardships, De La Cruz finds comfort in the countryside surroundings of his home, where the couple cares for chickens, roosters, and a 4-month-old rescue dog named Zeus. "That takes away a lot of stress," he said.

In the U.S., his primary worry was the possibility of losing his job. In Cuba, he faces daily challenges with blackouts, water shortages, fuel scarcity, low earnings, limited transit, and high food costs. While he would prefer to live in Cuba, he believes conditions must improve for life to become sustainable.

"We are going through a bad time," he said. "In the end, it’s the people who are hit the hardest."