Many Cubans voted for Trump - now they're turning on Republican immigration policies
Cuban Americans who previously supported Donald Trump are expressing frustration over the administration's aggressive deportation policies. Many are now facing the reality of family members being detained and deported by ICE.
Why it matters
The shift highlights the complex relationship between immigrant communities and Republican immigration policies, illustrating how personal impact can alter political support.
Image caption, Ismael Labrador voted for Trump - but he says he was "blindsided" by scale of deportations
Since the Trump administration launched its crackdown on undocumented immigrants two years ago, the waiting room of Cuban-born immigration lawyer, Ismael Labrador, in Miami is never empty. His appointment book is packed with relatives of detained immigrants trying to secure their release before they're deported back to their countries of origin.
Although business is booming, Labrador wishes it wasn't.
"We have relatives living in fear right now, we've had relatives who have been deported back to Cuba, unfortunately," he explains.
Cubans have traditionally enjoyed favoured immigration status in the United States under provisions enshrined in 1960s-era legislation called the Cuban Adjustment Act. But widespread arrests across Florida by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have left the Cuban American community more vulnerable in the US than they'd ever imagined, says Labrador.
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