{"id":26839,"date":"2026-08-04T04:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26839"},"modified":"2026-08-04T04:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:00:37","slug":"shut-out-of-the-u-s-cubans-start-new-lives-in-brazil-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26839","title":{"rendered":"Shut out of the U.S., Cubans start new lives in Brazil : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-137035\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 8147;&#10;        --source-height: 5431;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 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30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x5431+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"A man pushes his bicycle along a trash-strewn street in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                A man pushes his bicycle along a trash-strewn street in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Ramon Espinosa\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Ramon Espinosa\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>VOLTA REDONDA, Brazil\u2014 Cubans fleeing the island&#8217;s economic and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/05\/16\/nx-s1-5822480\/latest-updates-on-protests-in-cuba-driven-by-a-depletion-of-fuel-oil-and-diesel\" target=\"_blank\"> fuel <\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/06\/nx-s1-5692737\/la-cosa-in-cuba-this-single-phrase-carries-coded-truths\" target=\"_blank\">crisis<\/a> are increasingly looking to Brazil after the Trump administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/18\/nx-s1-5696974\/the-u-s-cuba-and-the-people-caught-between\" target=\"_blank\">closed<\/a> most pathways for their migration to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, more than 41,000 Cubans applied for asylum in Brazil\u2014a record, according to the Brazilian government, and part of a broader trend in which asylum applications in the country have reached historic highs.<\/p>\n<p>On a Sunday morning in the southeastern Brazilian city of Volta Redonda, Cuban migrants gathered for a Spanish-language Bible study. Many had sought asylum in Brazil within the past year &#8211; after the Trump administration cracked down on immigration.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Together, they prayed for those still struggling in Cuba, where blackouts and medical supply shortages have become increasingly frequent amid a U.S. pressure campaign.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are not many options&#8221; for Cubans seeking to leave, said Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez, 57.Friends told him Brazil offers asylum-seekers permission to work and access to government social services. Those benefits have made Brazil one of the few remaining destinations where Cubans can seek protection while building a new life.<\/p>\n<p>But the trip from Cuba is not easy. Nearby Guyana is visa-free for Cubans, so many fly there before crossing into Brazil through the Amazon. It&#8217;s a sharp reversal of a migration pattern from recent years, when migrants <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/11\/13\/1055503661\/the-darien-gap-was-no-mans-land-now-its-a-popular-migrant-path-to-the-u-s\" target=\"_blank\">trekked northward<\/a> through this region.<\/p>\n<p>Ram\u00edrez has now found work at an air conditioning company. His favorite things about Brazil are &#8220;freedom, electricity, food, and a decent wage,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Brazil has continued to accept asylum-seekers at a time when not only the United States but also European and other Latin American countries are tightening their borders. Anti-migrant sentiment has not become a major political force in Brazil, said Larissa Getirana of refugee services group Caritas.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have a large percentage of migrants,&#8221; Getirana noted. Around 1% of people living in Brazil were born elsewhere, the government estimates. Brazil has vocal far-right politicians, but rather than spurning migration, they have voiced sympathy for people fleeing left-wing autocracies like Cuba and Venezuela.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<aside id=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" class=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" aria-label=\"recommended stories\"\/>\n<!-- END ID=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n<p>U.N. migrants&#8217; rights expert Gehad Madi praised Brazil&#8217;s policies during a March visit, saying the country&#8217;s &#8220;rights-based, non-criminalizing and open approach to human mobility stands out as a leading example in Latin America.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Even so, rights groups say Brazil&#8217;s migration policies have become more restrictive in some respects.<\/p>\n<p>Madi criticized the fact that since 2024, Brazil has prohibited some people arriving at S\u00e3o Paulo&#8217;s main international airport from seeking asylum. Brazil&#8217;s government said the measure aimed to prevent migrants from using the country as a stepping stone to eventually reach the United States, as well as to combat human trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>Getirana and former Brazilian migration official Paulo Illes told NPR that U.S. pressure to curb northward migration influenced Brazil&#8217;s policy.<\/p>\n<p>For the many Cubans reaching Brazil today, applying for asylum provides temporary legal protection and the right to work, but a final decision can take years\u2014if it comes at all. &#8220;It happens when there is proof of persecution,&#8221; said Let\u00edcia Carvalho of migrant services group Miss\u00e3o Paz.<\/p>\n<p>Given concerns over political rights and Cuba&#8217;s worsening humanitarian crisis, rights groups have called on Brazil&#8217;s government to issue a broad residency permission for Cuban migrants, as it has done for Venezuelans in the past.<\/p>\n<p>Brazil&#8217;s justice ministry did not directly answer an NPR question on whether it planned such a step, but said its policies toward Cuban migrants would follow Brazilian law. Illes, the former official, said ideological sympathies between the Brazilian and Cuban governments might be getting in the way.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When you recognize a big group of refugees, you recognize that country has a political problem,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Brazil&#8217;s protections for asylum-seekers do not amount to definitive residency permission, they are still attractive enough to draw Cubans by the thousands each month.<\/p>\n<p>Beatriz C\u00e9spedes, who fled Cuba for Rio de Janeiro, said &#8220;there are countless opportunities here that give you spiritual peace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-third-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap third\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>For now, that sense of possibility is enough to keep drawing Cubans to Brazil\u2014even as many wait years to learn whether they will be allowed to stay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A man pushes his bicycle along a trash-strewn street in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Ramon Espinosa\/AP Photo hide caption toggle caption Ramon Espinosa\/AP Photo VOLTA REDONDA, Brazil\u2014 Cubans fleeing the island&#8217;s economic and fuel crisis are increasingly looking to Brazil after the Trump administration closed most pathways for their migration to the United&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8147x4583+0+424\/resize\/1400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F1a%2F5c07c5324df6961bc7b459fd4c69%2Fap26160624082727.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}