There is a new wave of immigrants coming through Texas, but they're not from Mexico- they're from Cuba. Many Cubans are coming to the U.S. to settle in Texas instead of Florida because of thawing relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
Many more Cubans have been coming to the U.S. since Cuba and the U.S. renewed diplomatic relations last winter. Cuban immigration to America increased 78 percent in 2015, according to the Pew Research Center.
"The numbers have definitely increased pretty sharply in the past couple of years, especially since normalized relations have been announced. I don't know if we've hit the top of that," said Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute, according to The Los Angeles Times .
The influx of immigrants to Texas also stems from Ecuador loosening requirements for Cubans to have paperwork to stay in the country. Cubans travel through Ecuador and Central America to get to Texas.
Cuban immigrant Jordanis Perez described the journey to America. "From Ecuador, the most dangerous trip starts through Colombia, Central America and up to Texas," Perez said. "I've heard cases where it has taken them months to get to the border from Ecuador, but I guess they're willing to do that and not risk their lives at sea."
Many of the thousands of migrants also face challenges once they reach Texas. Wasa Abdin, vice president for immigration legal services and refugee resettlement, described the difficulties charities encounter while trying to help the Cuban immigrants.
"We don't have funding for them and we don't know who's coming, so here they are standing at our doors in big numbers, and we're trying to help them find housing," said Abdin, The LA Times reported.
Despite the hardships, many Cubans think the reward of coming to America outweighs the risks.
"We're desperate to get to the United States because we want a better future for our children and for ourselves," said Cuban immigrant Arley Alonso Ferrarez, according to Caribbean 360.
