Across the United States, diaspora communities are playing an increasingly visible role in debates about foreign policy, democracy, sanctions, and geopolitical conflicts, but they are also politically engaged with events in their countries of origin.

During the videoconference “Diaspora Politics in the Trump Era,” organized by American Community Media (ACoM), participants analyzed how these communities have evolved as political actors in the United States.

Eduardo Gamarra, professor of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University, said that the Cuban population arrived after the Cuban Revolution and did not gain relevance in the realm of US politics until the mid-1980s when they became US citizens.

“The Republican Party did an excellent job promoting its agenda among that specific group during the 1980s. One of the distinctive characteristics of Cubans is that their rejection of the Democratic Party dates back to the perception that John Kennedy denied them air support in the context of the Bay of Pigs invasion.”

“We are faced with an astonishing contradiction.”

He added that Cubans have been the biggest beneficiaries of US immigration policy since the 1960s.

“The Cuban Adjustment Act has been particularly important in that Cubans, one year and one day after their arrival in the United States, are immediately eligible to obtain US residency.”

He explained that this dates back 50 years,and what is fascinating is that Cuban Americans are the best beneficiaries of a very broad and generous immigration policy.

But, he emphasized that today, what we are witnessing is the alignment of Cuban Americans with extremely restrictive immigration policies.

“It is not surprising that in Hialeah, during the 2024 campaign, President Trump announced his massive plan to deport Hispanics.

“He did so before a predominantly Cuban-American audience, although there were also Venezuelans, Colombians, and others.

What is the political dynamic of the Iranian diaspora in the United States?

William O. Beeman, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, said that we must go back more than 40 years, to the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979

“During the revolution, there were actually three factions that aspired to replace the Shah when he fell from power and was exiled from Iran. The first group consisted of secular nationalists, who effectively governed the country for about six months, until the hostage crisis with the United States erupted in the fall of 1979.”

He specified that the second group were the religious ones, led by Ayatollah Khomeini; and the third group was made up of what we might call Islamic Marxists who were inspired, in particular, by the writings of Frantz Fanon, the socialist author who addressed issues such as the wretched of the earth and poverty.

“These three groups believed, each in their own way, that they would be the future rulers of Iran once the Shah left. And, fundamentally, the religious ones—that is, Ayatollah Khomeini—managed to consolidate their power by taking advantage of the context of the hostage crisis to establish a new Islamic constitution in Iran; and have remained in power to this day."

He maintained that the other two groups left the country; the main Marxist group is the Mujahideen, who were long established in Iraq and continue to act as an opposition force to the government.

"They were expelled from Iraq as a result of the 2003 US invasion; they are currently based in Albania, although they have representatives throughout Europe; and supporters within the United States itself. Sam Brownback, senator from Kansas, even went so far as to give them physical space within his own Senate office.”

He added that John Bolton, a leading expert on Iranian affairs, was a direct supporter of the Mujahideen.

He also said that they have received approximately $75 million in funding from the United States government during the first Trump administration.

As for the secular nationalists, which includes the monarchists who left Iran during the revolution due to their alliance with the Shah, they are largely located in the United States, with a huge concentration of this population in California.

“One of the most important channels for this group has been the Iranian media based in California, which broadcasts content such as popular music and popular theater, genres that are practically restricted to the Muslim population in Iran.”

Thus, I have summarized that these two groups, the monarchists or secular nationalists and the Islamic-Marxist groups are firmly and categorically opposed to the current regime in Iran.

“For the most part, these groups support the Republican Party and back Trump, as they believe they will end the Islamic regime in Iran.

In fact, he indicated that they actively promote Republican hostility toward the current regime, convinced that it will be overthrown.

Furthermore, he emphasized that they harbor the idea that they themselves will take control and that, eventually, they will be able to return to Iran.

“A fundamental aspect regarding the Iranian diaspora is that, despite living in exile, outside their country of origin, they maintain a deep commitment to Persian culture. imperialist and colonial efforts of Western nations like the United States, Great Britain, France, and Spain, which plundered Asia and destroyed the region's local economies.”

As a consequence, she said, the workforce in those places was transformed into expendable labor that was employed throughout South America, the Caribbean, and the United States.

“Unlike Cuban migrants or the most recent ones who were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and expedited processing through the US immigration system, The Chinese and Asian diaspora “was the first to be excluded.”

He specified that the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Page Act of the 1870s prevented the Chinese, and subsequently all Asian migrants, from becoming citizens and political participants within the United States system.

“They couldn't even testify in court if a family member was murdered and they had witnessed the crime; they couldn't vote, they couldn't run for public office,and they couldn't own property. They constituted, therefore, a diasporic community completely deprived of their rights. of hundreds of years.”