A new Human Rights Watch report reveals that the Trump administration has sent nearly 13,000 Cubans, Venezuelans and other foreign nationals to Mexico, where they face dangerous conditions and cartel violence in an unfamiliar nation.
According to the report released Wednesday, Mexico has allowed these deportation arrangements for years, but current deportees tend to be older individuals who have resided in the United States for extended periods compared to previous cases. This makes employment more challenging and creates urgent medical needs.
Researchers conducted more than 50 interviews in the southern Mexican cities of Tapachula and Villahermosa for the study, which comes during expanded immigration enforcement as part of the president’s mass deportation initiative.
The enforcement expansion has ensnared immigrants previously not targeted, including Cubans who lived in America for years or decades. When countries like Cuba and Venezuela restrict or refuse deportation flights, the US instead sends these individuals to Mexico or other nations with existing agreements.
“Imagine being 60 or 70 years old, uprooted from your life overnight and sent to a country you don’t know, where authorities leave you out to dry without access to even the most basic services — shelter, healthcare. Imagine being dropped in dangerous cities with nothing but the clothes on your back,” said Alcira Hava, Leonard H. Sandler Fellow at Human Rights Watch, who worked on the report.
“That’s the reality for many Cubans deported to Mexico,” Hava said.
The report shows Cubans make up the largest group sent to Mexico, with over 4,300 individuals deported. More than half of the 41 Cubans interviewed had been living in America since the 1980s or 1990s, having arrived during the Mariel boatlift or through the 1990s lottery program. Most previously held green cards but lost their status.
While more than half of deported Cubans had criminal records, researchers found only 16% involved violent crimes. One-quarter had no criminal background whatsoever.
Most individuals were apprehended during routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins, though some were detained at work or in public areas. None appeared before a judge to challenge their Mexico deportation, even when expressing safety concerns.
The Cuban community, which traditionally benefits from expedited residency and citizenship pathways through the Cuban Adjustment Act, has expressed surprise at the scope of the current immigration crackdown.
Upon arrival in Mexico, deportees are placed in southern cities offering limited employment prospects, restricted healthcare access, and where criminal organizations target them. They must navigate complex procedures to potentially obtain refugee status in Mexico, if eligible.
A Villahermosa shelter has received Cuban deportees as elderly as 83 over the past year, representing a shift from the typical young men and families they usually assist, according to shelter worker Josué Leal.
“The U.S. discards them. Cuba discards them,” Leal said, calling it a form of “double punishment.”
The specific procedures for third-country deportations remain unclear since neither the US nor Mexico has released their agreement publicly. Human Rights Watch urged both nations to publish the arrangement and ensure due process and international law compliance.
The organization called on Mexico to guarantee medical treatment access and legal status pathways for those unable to return home. It also urged the US to halt these deportations unless such protections are guaranteed.
