Thousands of Cuban immigrants who have arrived in the United States in recent years have chosen to live in Houston and not in Miami or other Florida cities, attracted by an affordable cost of living and good job opportunities.
The Cuban population is one of the fastest growing in the Texas city, and if between 2006 and 2019 there were about 10,000 Cubans, from 2017 to 2021 the figure reached 34,000, reveals a 2023 report from the Migration Policy Institute.
Adolfo Rodriguezdirector of the non-profit organization Cuba Housewhich provides technical training and English classes to newcomers, settled in the city in the 1960s and has witnessed how the Cuban population has increased.
“I imagine there will be about 100,000 Cubans here“, he revealed to the portal Houston Landing.
In his opinion, something very attractive about Houston is the ease of working, especially in the health field.
“They get decent jobs here, you know, and you can live here. Making $15 an hour here is better than someone making $15 an hour in Florida,” he said.
A 55-year-old nurse named Kirina Rodriguez She said she came to Houston in 2007, after qualifying for a refugee resettlement program that placed her there because of her experience in the health sector.
She has also seen how much the Cuban community has grown in the city.
“Now you can find Cuban food, which you couldn’t find anywhere before. You can find a Cuban working in a hospital as a doctor or nurse. You can find a Cuban working for NASA. You can find Cubans everywhere,” he stated.
Another organization that helps emigrants adjust to living in the United States is The Alliance, which offers them cash assistance, medical support, and job training services.
In the year that is now ending, it has served almost 3,000 Cubans.
On the other hand, the Houston field office of US Customs and Border Protection reported that 3,872 Cubans were detained or subjected to deportation proceedings in fiscal year 2023, a figure that was only 23 in 2022 and 17 in 2021. .
