Through this research project, I explore the complex relationship between the governmental and societal norms of a perceived homogenous and liberal Uruguayan society and the new realities of the incoming Cuban migration. Through eleven months of fieldwork and analysis of historical and government documentation, I examine how the norms that play a role in the construction of the home (governmental, gender, and cultural norms regarding space and time) tend to exclude the new realities of the Cuban population. Uruguay is a country whose nation-state formed from European ideals of cosmopolitan cities; we make little acknowledgment of slavery or past non-white communities in the country, and in general, we continuously attempt to exclude ourselves from Latin America as a whole or any community associated with non-whiteness. During the last six years, incoming migration from Latin American countries such as Cuba has challenged the perceived –but false– “homogeneity” of the society and revealed deeper historical hierarchies of class, race, and ethnicity entrenched in the bureaucratic sector and city planning. Through this paper, I argue that these norms were created for the idealized “homogeneous” Uruguayan population, and now ignore or exclude also the realities of the incoming immigrant population, resulting in unregulated and poor housing opportunities that reinforce the marginalization of this community.