(UNITED STATES) — A April 2026 study from the Cato Institute says federal immigration agencies sharply reduced permanent residence approvals for Cubans while increasing arrests, a shift that immigration lawyers say has changed how the Cuban Adjustment Act operates in practice even though Congress has not repealed it.

The study found that approvals of green cards for Cuban nationals fell 99.8% between late 2024 and early 2026, while ICE arrests of Cubans rose 463% over roughly the same period. The figures draw legal attention because Cubans paroled into the United States have long relied on the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, Pub. L. 89-732, which generally allows eligible applicants to apply for lawful permanent residence after one year of physical presence.

Government data summarized in the report shows that USCIS approved more than 10,000 Cubans for lawful permanent residence in October 2024. By January 2026, the nationwide total had dropped to just 15 approvals for the month. During that same month, the government received 7,086 Cuban residency applications, with thousands reportedly placed on an indefinite hold under expanded screening and vetting procedures.

Arrest figures moved in the opposite direction. The report says monthly ICE arrests of Cubans climbed from about 200 in late 2024 to more than 1,000 by late 2025. The timing overlaps with a broader enforcement push during the second Trump administration, including more frequent use of Notices to Appear and increased coordination between benefit adjudications and interior enforcement.

Several policy changes frame that increase. DHS ended the CHNV parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans on March 25, 2025. In December 2025, USCIS suspended adjustment processing for Cubans and 18 other nationalities, then later expanded the hold to 40. In January 2026, the government launched Operation PARRIS, described as a re-interview and vetting initiative for applicants awaiting permanent residence.

The legal issue is not whether the Cuban Adjustment Act vanished. It remains on the books. The issue is whether discretionary processing holds, new vetting layers, and referrals to enforcement have effectively stalled access to relief that Congress still permits. Adjustment of status is governed generally by INA § 245, while parole authority appears in INA § 212(d)(5). Cubans adjusting under the 1966 statute still must satisfy admissibility and other requirements, but many attorneys say prolonged suspension of adjudications leaves applicants exposed after parole or other temporary protection expires.

That exposure appears in the report’s account of parolees who entered lawfully in 2024, became eligible to apply after one year, and were then arrested during routine ICE check-ins while their adjustment cases remained frozen. In immigration law, a pending application may provide procedural benefits, but it does not erase removability if DHS decides to place a noncitizen in proceedings. Once a Notice to Appear is filed with the immigration court, the case moves into EOIR, where adjustment requests may be renewed before an immigration judge depending on the person’s posture and eligibility.

USCIS and DHS officials have publicly defended the stricter approach. USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said on November 13, 2025 that the administration was pursuing immigration policies under which only “the most deserving” would attain citizenship. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on February 24, 2026 that nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants had left the country in 13 months and that DHS had saved taxpayers $13.2 billion. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, in remarks cited in late 2025, also described a close working relationship with ICE, including notifications involving people who appear at USCIS offices and are subject to arrest.

Critics argue that the practice undercuts rights attached to lawful entry and pending benefit requests. They say applicants who were paroled and became statutorily eligible for residence under the Cuban Adjustment Act should not face prolonged inactivity that leaves them vulnerable to detention or deportation. The agencies have not announced a repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act, but the processing numbers described by Cato suggest a major operational change.

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