The migration office in Havana was closed at the end of 2018 during Donald Trump’s presidency amid a tightening of the course towards the socialist-ruled Caribbean state. The closure also came in response to the emergence of the so-called Havana Syndrome.
Mysterious health problems among numerous US diplomats, first in the Cuban capital and later also in other regions of the world, had raised fears of the possible use of acoustic or electrosonic weapons by an enemy state. Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies have concluded that the cases are most likely not due to attacks.
The reopening of the Havana office comes as part of an effort by Trump’s successor Joe Biden’s administration to combat illegal immigration to the United States while expanding the options for legal entry. Immigration offices in several Latin American countries should also help.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, himself a native of Cuba, said the Biden administration is taking steps to “reduce illegal border crossings, deprive nefarious smuggling organizations of resources, and improve access to legal, safe, and orderly pathways” for those in need of protection to enter the country. “Cubans like my own family, who fled the communist takeover nearly 63 years ago, deserve an equal chance at legal avenues to start a new life in the United States.”
