Young Cubans, and young professionals in particular, are emigrating in their droves.
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have been arriving in the US, both by land across the Mexico border and by sea. According to US Customs and Border Protection, the number of encounters border officials had with Cuban nationals jumped from 39,000 in 2021 to 224,000 in 2022.
This figure is higher than during the biggest Cuban migration waves in the 1980s and 90s put together.
With both sea and land crossings very risky, many of those emigrating make the difficult choice to leave their children behind.
The parents hope their kids will be able to join them once they have legalised their migration status, but that can take years. Meanwhile, they work to earn enough to be able to send money and gifts, in an effort to make up for the physical absence.
Many of those left behind are living with close relatives.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member