Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez has asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate and potentially deport over 100 Cubans in the U.S. who, he says. have ties and actively participated in repression conducted by the Havana regime over the past years.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Gimenez said the people "had direct ties with the Cuban Communist Party and the repressive state security apparatus" and, therefore, they "pose a direct threat to our national security."
The Miami lawmaker went on to say that their presence in the country "not only endangers our communities but also provides a foothold for the Cuban dictatorship to engage in espionage, political coercion and illicit activities within our borders."
The list was provided to Gimenez by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, which has compiled a database of people who it claims were part of the regime and engaged in surveillance, harassment, bullying and the imprisonment of dissidents and peaceful demonstrators, and now want to go or are in the U.S.
Rolando Cartaya, a researcher in the organization, said in August that 115 were already living in the country, and that the list included former high-ranking officials in the Communist Party, Interior Ministry officials, police officers, government attorneys and judges.
"These people who repressed us, who beat us, are living and enjoying freedom in this great country," said Elixir Arando, a member of the organization, in a press conference covered by the Miami Herald back then.
Many of those who entered did so through the CHNV humanitarian program that allows Cubans, along with Venezuelans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, apply for asylum in the country.
Former regime members were able to get in because they are not required to disclose involvement in human-rights violations or membership of totalitarian parties. They mainly need a sponsor who can ensure their financial support when they enter the country. The program has been halted by the Trump administration.
There have been some high-profile cases, including Cuba's Deputy Labor Minister, Juan Carlos Santana Novoa, who entered the U.S. through the southern border and was requesting asylum after representing his country at Mexican president Sheinbaum's inauguration ceremony last October. Former secretary of the Communist Party of Cienfuegos, Manuel Menéndez, Judge Melody González, and pilot Luis Raúl González Pardo were others.
Cuba is grappling with one of the most severe crises in its modern history, marked by economic collapse, mass emigration, and deteriorating living conditions. Widespread blackouts, fuel shortages, and delays in food and essential supplies have compounded the challenges.
The crisis has driven an unprecedented wave of emigration, with official figures showing the population has decreased by at least one million since the pandemic. Over 675,000 Cubans have relocated to the United States.
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