Cuba and the United States are working toward reestablishing ties; in doing so they'll re-open embassies for the first time in more than half a century. However, the rekindling will also affect the lives of ten of thousands of Cuban nationals living in the U.S. who face deportation by order of immigration authorities.

According to Immigration and Custom Enforcement, approximately 25,000 Cubans living in the U.S. have outstanding deportation orders, which include those who pose a threat to national security and those who have serious criminal convictions. The sole reason these individuals haven't been returned to Cuba is because President Raul Castro hasn't given permission, but that may change with recent negotiations, according to the Associated Press.

Between April and October 1980, an estimated 125,000 Cubans ventured from the island nation to the U.S. The mass migration began when then-President Fidel granted an exodus. In 1984, a repatriation agreement was drafted, which included a list of 2,746 individuals to be returned to Cuba. Only 1,999 individuals on that list have been sent back to Cuba, including 1,093 after 2001.

Deporting individuals to Cuba has been difficult for decades due to diplomatic ties and the Cuban government declining the opportunity to provide travel documents for many immigrants who face deportation. ICE is responsible for the search and removal of undocumented individuals living unlawfully in the U.S., and they're pursuing the 35,000 Cubans with outstanding deportation orders. Apparently 25,000 are deportation priorities because of their backgrounds, which includes criminal histories. Since late March, more than 2,300 other Cuban-born individuals have open cases pending in U.S. immigrant courts.

Some of the individuals awaiting deportation are retirees whose deportations were ordered more than two decades ago. Also, younger individuals who will be returned will be deported to a "new country," a place that they barely recognize because everything they've ever known has been in the U.S.

Migration agreements are being discussed behind closed doors, so it's impossible to tell what future lies ahead for the thousands of Cubans with outstanding deportation orders. Likely, they won't be sent to Cuba soon, due to difficulties ICE faces when attempting to locate and deport immigrants. Migration Policy Center's Marc Rosenblum asserted publicly, if the Cuban government begins receiving Cuban-born citizens, those individuals would likely be expelled as soon as ICE finds them.

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