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Why Cuban Immigration to the U.S. Soared 78% in 2015

New arrivals have seen a dramatic rise since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations.
A couple walks by Cuban-themed murals along the "Calle Ocho" street in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami in 2014.
A couple walks by Cuban-themed murals along the "Calle Ocho" street in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami in 2014. Reuters/Brian Blanco
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In December 2014, President Obama announced that the U.S. would be reviving diplomatic relations with its long-estranged neighbor Cuba, establishing a “new chapter” in ties severed back in 1961.

Since that news, Cubans have rushed to America in droves—one of the biggest waves of immigration in recent years. In fiscal 2015, more than 43,000 Cubans arrived in the U.S. via various ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the Pew Research Center. That’s a dizzying 78 percent increase over the 2014 fiscal year, when the total number of Cuban immigrants entering the U.S. was just above 24,000.