Unsettled Futures

From late 2021 through the end of 2024, an unprecedented 850,000 Cuban migrants arrived in the United States, where they confronted a more restrictive and uncertain immigration policy landscape than during past Cuban mass-migration events. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has further curtailed access to legal pathways, expanded detentions and deportations, and revoked status protections granted under the Biden presidency. “Unsettled Futures” brings together voices from journalism, advocacy, and the law to assess how these changes are impacting recent migrants and the evolving debate over federal immigration policy within the Cuban-American community. Panelists will also consider how developments in U.S.-Cuban affairs following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela may further shape the migration landscape. This conversation will be hosted in English and Spanish. FEATURING Wilfredo O. Allen, Law Offices of Wilfredo O. Allen Carla Gloria Colomé Santiago, El País / El Estornudo Thomas Kennedy, Florida Immigrant Coalition MODERATED BY Michael J. Bustamante, Ph.D., Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American studies and Director of Academic Programs for the Cuban Heritage Collection This panel is organized by the University of Miami’s Cuban Heritage Collection and the Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. It is co-sponsored by the University of Miami’s Wilbur L. and Jean L. Morrison Endowment for Cuban Studies.