The United States on Monday sent its first deportation flight to Cuba since 2020, months after Cuba agreed for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic to accept flights carrying Cubans caught at the US-Mexico border.

“On April 24, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resumed normal removals processing for Cuban nationals who have received final orders of removal,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The Cuban government confirmed the flight’s arrival, saying on Twitter it included 40 Cubans intercepted in boats and 83 detained at the US-Mexico border.

Reuters first reported late last year that Cuba agreed to give US authorities a new but limited tool to deter record numbers of Cuban border crossers.

After US President Joe Biden adopted more restrictive border security measures in January, the number of Cubans and other migrants caught at the border plummeted.

However the Biden administration is preparing for a possible rise in illegal crossings with COVID restrictions at the US-Mexico border set to lift on May 11.