Obama dismantles ‘ wet foot, dry foot’ policy for Cubans
Those fleeing island got preferential treatment
The Obama administration announced Thursday an end to the 20year- old “wet foot, dry foot” policy that allows most Cuban migrants who reach U. S. soil to become legal permanent residents after one year.
President Obama issued a statement Thursday evening that the U. S. is working to re- establish relations with its onetime foe, and ending the policy was the next step in that process.
“Effective immediately, Cuban nationals who attempt to enter the United States illegally and do not qualify for humanitarian relief will be subject to removal, consistent with U. S. law and enforcement priorities,” Obama said. “By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries.”
“Wet foot, dry foot” has generally allowed Cubans who simply touch U. S. soil to stay in the country. Those picked up at sea are returned to Cuba. In exchange for the policy change, Cuba has agreed to start accepting Cubans who have been issued a deportation order in the United States, something the communist nation has refused to do for decades.
The decision comes as Obama tries to cement his historic opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba and one week before President- elect Donald Trump takes office. Obama ended more than five decades of isolation with Cuba in December 2014 and visited the island in 2016.
Trump has said he would renegotiate dealings with Cuba, and ending the “wet foot, dry foot” policy could affect his plans.
Cubans have received favorable treatment from the United States ever since Fidel Castro took control of the island in 1959 and declared it a communist ally of the Soviet Union. Congress passed the Cuban Adjustment Act in 1966 that allowed the tens of thousands of Cubans who already had fled to gain legal status in the U. S.
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, it left Cuba in economic ruin, prompting tens of thousands to take to the sea for the USA on makeshift boats and rafts. In 1995, President Clinton enacted the “wet foot, dry foot” policy to help end the rafter crisis.