A total of 20,076 Cuban migrants entered the United States in Novemberaccording to the latest figures released by that country's Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The figure places November as the month of most arrivals of Cubans in the northern country in 2023. Since January, when 11,909 migrant arrivals were reported from the island, the numbers showed a downward trend in the first nine months. Except June (10,881), August (12,691) and September (15,677), In the remaining months, fewer than 10,000 Cubans entered the United States.
In October, the month in which fiscal year 2024 began, 18,078 Cubans entered. This was the month with the most arrivals until it was surpassed by November.
In the tenth and eleventh months of almost last year, 38,154 Cubans arrived in the United States. This amount is almost equal to the total number of additions recorded in the entire 2021 financial year (39,303).
Although a rebound is seen in the last three months of 2023, the numbers are a far cry from those reported at this point in 2022. In November last year alone, 35,849 migrants came to the United States from Cuba. In December the number rose to 44,079. Fiscal year 2022 concluded with 224,607 Cuban arrivals.
The number of Cuban migrants arriving in the United States in fiscal year 2023 was 200,287, down from the previous year although well above 2021 when it began the unprecedented migration crisis that Cuba is currently experiencing. In April, Havana Consulting Group President Emilio Morales announced that nearly 4% of the island's population had emigrated to the United States in the past two years.
This was shown by a report from the British television station BBC a few days ago the growth of the Cuban community in Kentucky in recent years.
While the island's newcomers fill out the local reception programs, the established ones start their own businesses.
Around 50,000 Cubans already live in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city., according to estimates based on official data. This corresponds to more than 6% of the total population (780,000 inhabitants).
The hundreds of Cubans who arrive every week to settle in Louisville exceed the capacity of the Kentucky Refugee Ministry. Dozens of people gather at its facilities, most of them Cubans who recently arrived in Louisville. There they receive personal and legal advice, job placement, English lessons and checks with funds to cover their expenses in the first few months.
Those responsible for the center say they are overwhelmed. “Before 2021, about 50 Cubans arrived every month, and now 50 arrive every day,” said Daynier Adán, a social worker. In the last two years alone, more than 15,000 Cubans settled in Louisville and the surrounding areaaccording to official figures, although the actual number is estimated to be higher because it ignores secondary migration, i.e. those who were already in the US and moved from other states such as Florida or Texas.