Over 7,000 refugees to arrive in America within the next few days

'In Cuba, there's nothing. There's no freedom.'

Thousands of Cuban refugees seek freedom in the United States by traveling through Central America and crossing the Mexico-Texas border.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Over 7,000 Cuban refugees are expected to illegally cross the Mexican border into the United States within the next few days.

According to KRGV, the Hidalgo International Bridge continues to buzz with activity as hundreds of Cubans cross the border.

Jose Angel Rodriguez, a cab driver of 40 years, reported increasing numbers of Cubans crossing the entry point.

"They get here every night, in the morning, and at night they get here," he explained. "They go to Laredo, too."

Congressman Henry Cuellar's office reported Cuban refugees coming to Laredo's Point of Entry daily in increasing numbers from Central America through Mexico to the border.

Several 15-passenger vans with Florida license plates wait down the road from the bridge to transport friends, families and other Cuban refugees further into the United States.

One driver, Giovanni Acosta, admitted, "In Cuba, there's nothing. There's no freedom. We came from Cuba because the pressure that we have there."

Acosta shared that he is waiting for his wife to come to the Hidalgo International Bridge so he could return to Miami with her. He described that she was taking the same track he did when he entered the United States.

"I did the same path, like all the Cubans did. I came from Ecuador. I walked for 27 days on the road."

He is also open to helping other Cuban refugees, but mis primary goal is to retrieve his family.

Since the rise of Fidel Castro, Cubans have been entering the United States in search of freedom from their communist country.

The Embassy of the United States reports the "U.S. Refugee Admissions Program allows refugees from all parts of the world who meet the criteria outlined in the annual Presidential Determination to be resettled in the United States."

According to the White House, up to 85,000 refugees can be accepted into the United States in the fiscal year of 2016, 3,000 of whom can originate from Latin America/Caribbean.

Though the United States is accepting the legal migration of Cuban refugees, the thousands coming into America will be doing so illegally.

KRGV spoke to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ask if they are prepared for the thousands of Cuban migrants. In response, a statement was released that, in part, read: "U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is prepared to process the expected increase in Cubans applying for admission at South Texas ports of entry. 

"CBP officers will process Cuban nationals in accordance with established procedures as expeditiously as possible while maintaining requirements and standards for individuals in our care."

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