A new Cuban immigration and citizenship law could have major implications for Cuban Americans planning to travel to or invest in the island, raising concerns among legal experts and members of South Florida’s Cuban exile community.
The legislation, first approved in 2024 and officially published this month, reinforces Cuba’s longstanding position that people born there remain Cuban citizens while on the island, regardless of whether they later became US citizens.
Under the law, Cuban-born Americans traveling to Cuba would be required to enter the country using a Cuban passport. While in Cuba, they would not be able to invoke their US citizenship status for legal or consular protection.
The law states, “Cuban citizens, while they are in the national territory, are governed by this status in the terms established in this law and cannot make use of foreign citizenship”.
That provision is drawing concern from some Cuban Americans who have recently shown renewed interest in investing in Cuba’s private sector and real estate market.
Reinier Gutierrez, a Cuban-born US citizen and business owner in Coconut Grove, said the developments sparked his interest in purchasing property on the island. “Real estate,” Gutierrez said when asked what kind of investments interest him in Cuba.
However, Gutierrez said the new requirements concern him, particularly the need to obtain a Cuban passport, which can cost more than $200. “I am convinced these are desperate measures because each Cuban passport is over 200 dollars,” Gutierrez said in Spanish.
Still, he remains optimistic that political changes could eventually create opportunities on the island, citing comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former President Donald Trump, who recently hinted at future US action involving Cuba, saying: “We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon”.
Not everyone shares his optimism.
Andy Gomez, former director of the University of Miami Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies, warned that Cuban Americans should think carefully before investing under the current system.
“Why would I want to be in Cuba with a Cuban passport?” Gomez asked, noting the law raises serious legal and practical concerns. “Cuban laws apply to me. What justice system is there in Cuba in case there is some kind of problem?”
Gomez, a naturalized US citizen born in Cuba, said many Cuban Americans became interested in investing after Cuba announced that Cubans living abroad could own private businesses on the island. However, he questioned whether Cuba has the infrastructure, legal protections, and economic stability necessary to support outside investment.
“The logistics, the infrastructure of doing business in Cuba — they don’t have one,” Gomez said. “Who do you complain to if there’s a problem? Employment rights? Can I hire whom I want to?”
He also raised concerns about the lack of US consular protection for Cuban-born Americans while in Cuba under the new law, stating that travelers who enter Cuba as Cuban citizens would have no possibility of claiming protection from the US Embassy in Havana if legal or political issues arise during their stay.
The law is expected to take effect in November.
