Cuban-American congress members Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar expressed outrage over the entry of Juan Carlos Santana Novoa, Cuba's Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security, into the United States. Santana Novoa sought political asylum at the Nogales border in Arizona and was subsequently released, with a court date set for August 2026.
“This is a disaster, the border is a disaster,” Giménez told journalist Daniel Benítez from Univision. “We need to investigate the reasons behind this. We will have to send another letter to Secretary Mayorkas to ask why this person was allowed entry,” he added.
Salazar's Concerns Over U.S. Immigration Policies
María Elvira Salazar also expressed her disappointment, questioning why Santana Novoa did not seek refuge in a country more aligned with his ideology. “Instead of seeking asylum in Venezuela, Nicaragua, or North Korea, Cuban communism supporters knock on the door of the capitalist empire, and unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration lets them in,” she stated in a written declaration provided to the media.
Attorney Jesús Novo expressed hope that during the asylum application process or court hearings, it would be determined that such individuals are inadmissible in the U.S. and should be sent back to their countries of origin.
Previous Incidents and Congressional Actions
In late August, a total of three congress members and two senators, four of whom are Cuban-American, had already sent a joint letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. They questioned the legality of allowing Manuel Menéndez Castellanos, another former Cuban official, to enter the U.S., and called for action if any legal violations were found.
The letter was signed by Republican congress members María Elvira Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart, and Carlos Giménez, as well as senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.
Deputy Minister Santana Novoa's Border Journey
The news of Santana Novoa's arrival was first reported by Mario J. Pentón based on anonymous government sources and other migrants who had traveled with the high-ranking official without knowing his true identity. “We had no idea who he was until we reached the border, and he was called by name. There were eight of us in the group. He was in Tamaulipas and asked to join us for the CBP One appointment,” one of the accompanying migrants told Martí Noticias.
Another migrant mentioned that they often joked with him, saying he looked like a Cuban official—an observation that turned out to be true. It was also revealed that Santana Novoa had missed a previous CBP One appointment while in Cuba.
The group traveling with Santana Novoa noted that he was the only one permitted entry into the U.S., while the rest were told their appointment was not at that port of entry. A Facebook post from the Cuban Embassy in Mexico dated September 4 revealed that the Deputy Minister had participated in a panel titled "Structural Reforms and Longevity" at the I Technical Summit of the American Social Security Commissions held in Mexico City.
The Broader Issue of Cuban Officials Seeking Asylum
Graduated in Economics, Santana Novoa's background can be sparsely found on Google. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security on January 11, 2022, according to the official entity’s website. The Cuban government has yet to comment on the incident involving the high-ranking official, who joins a growing exodus of Cuban leaders, ex-leaders, judges, prosecutors, and other government-associated figures heading to the United States via various routes.
The dramatic reality is that thousands of Cuban citizens in the U.S. are in a state of immigration limbo, with many facing the undeserved threat of deportation. In August, the Washington-based Patmos Institute criticized the alarming increase in the entry of "responsible individuals from the Cuban communist system" into the U.S. This contrasts sharply with many victims in Cuba who have no access to a refugee program, as it has been stalled for years.