This month the Department of Homeland Security, specifically the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, disclosed the identity and personal data of 46 Cuban refugees. The refugees had requested asylum from the U.S. government for fear of persecution or torture by their own country. According to the Los Angeles Times that data is now in the hands of the Cuban government and the release of their identities was reportedly accidental.
The fact that the Cuban government has been able to access this personal data, including names, dates of birth, nationalities and respective detention centers, is a "nightmare scenario" for any asylum seeker. Now, these Cubans fear possible retaliation from their country's government, said Robyn Barnard, associate director of refugee advocacy at Humans Rights First:
The words egregious and illegal don’t go far enough. And this is not any foreign government, but a government we have irrefutable evidence routinely detains and tortures those they suspect of being in opposition to them.
No immediate deportation
In early December, a Homeland Security official communicating with the Cuban government reported that the 46 affected were part of a larger group of 103 refugees expected to be sent on one of the deportation flights back to Cuba. Deportation flights have recently resumed after a hiatus due to the pandemic.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will contact the 46 affected Cubans and their respective attorneys. For the time being, none of them will be deported from the United States for at least 30 days, and they will be given the opportunity to update their asylum application while they investigate whether the disclosure of their identities will be cause for possible retaliation from the Cuban government.
