Many Cubans voted for Trump - now they're turning on Republican immigration policies

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.

"The way I put it is that if you don't have a Green Card in the United States, you may be a target."

Countless mobile phone videos have recorded such arrests in places previously considered off-limits: parents detained outside schoolyards, at bus stops, youth sporting events and even inside courthouses at pre-arranged immigration hearings.

Few have had the impact of the footage of 39-year-old Ecuadorean immigrant, Grace Calero, and her 19-year-old daughter, Giulianna Carriel, being arrested in a hospital ward.

Two months ago, the pair were driving to work in Kissimmee, central Florida when they were hit by another car and taken to hospital in an ambulance. While they were being treated for their injuries, ICE agents burst in and arrested them. They were deported back to Ecuador within days.

Kaynak: BBC News World RSS (Açık Basın / Haber Servisi)