Illegal border crossings by Cubans has surpassed last year's record at the same time deportations are at an all-time low, a poisonous formula that is making the United States a huge "magnet" for even higher levels of immigration from the communist island, according to a new report.

Cuban immigration has hit 46,635, breaching last year's ceiling of 43,154, according to the authoritative Center for Immigration Studies.



Under U.S. immigration policy, Cubans are treated differently than other illegals because of the Cold War, now easing, between the island and Washington. Most are granted legal status, immediately offered taxpayer-funded welfare, and directed to Cuban communities around the nation.

The numbers have surged as the ease in getting into the United States has become more evident and because they fear that the immediate approval of legal status in the U.S. will end if Washington and Havana establish diplomatic relations as President Obama has sought.

CIS analyst Kausha Luna wrote in her new report, "The flow of U.S.-bound Cubans moving through Latin America continues to accelerate and does not appear to be slowing down."



She detailed the immigration flow and also used government data to show the stunning and virtual end of deporting Cuban illegals. In 2004, the federal government deported over 700, but that has trickled to just double digits.

"The number of visa-less Cubans arriving to the United States has been increasing since 2009. The number of Cuban aliens removed (not necessarily to Cuba), however, has been decreasing. In FY 2009, 130 Cuban aliens were removed (86 criminal and 44 non-criminal aliens). By FY 2014, the number of removals dropped to 23 (15 criminal and 8 non-criminal aliens). It should be noted that Cuba's reluctance to take back its nationals is accompanied by a lack of political will within the Obama administration to enforce U.S. immigration laws and to impose visa sanctions (as required by statute) on countries that refuse to take back their citizens," she wrote.

And the result of U.S. policy granting legal status and a lack of immigration enforcement in Latin America to stop the flow of Cubans, she concluded, creates "a significant magnet for illegal Cuban migration to the United States. Consequently, the flow of Cuban migrants will continue as long as these two issues remain unresolved."

Her full report is here.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com