By Syra Ortiz-Blanes and Michael Wilner
“Shalyn Fluharty, the executive director of Americans for Immigrant Justice, told the Herald that the resumption of deportations to Cuba was “not a surprise” after the recent detentions in South Florida.
‘They rounded up people with no criminal history, who have work permits, family in the United States, who have complied with every single requirement,’ she said.
Fluharty said that the immigration policies and living conditions Cubans and other immigrants face in the U.S.-Mexico border to reach the United States do not allow them to fairly seek asylum. She pointed to the situation at the border as a possible reason some Cubans make dangerous journeys on makeshift boats to reach South Florida shores.
‘We all want to think our immigration system is fair and just,’ she said, ‘but when it doesn’t hold the values of our American society, those deportations aren’t just.'”