The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. to treat Cubans like other migrants
Obama administration ending controversial ‘wet-foot, dry-foot’ policy.
MIAMI — The Obama administration said Thursday it is ending the controversial “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy — essentially turning the clock on decades of preferential treatment for Cuban refugees — and making those who arrive without visas subject to deportation.
The so-called “wet-foot” part of the policy was implemented after the 1994 rafter crisis that brought some 35,000 Cubans to U.S. shores. It allowed Cubans reaching U.S. territory without proper visas to get permanent residency and green cards after they’ve been in the United States for a year and a day.
“Wet-foot, dry-foot has come to be understood as any Cuban who makes it to U.S. territory would be lawfully admitted,” said Robert Muse, a Washington immigration attorney. “Now this change puts Cubans into the same category as every other citizen of every other country on earth.”
Prior to the 1994 rafter crisis, Cubans picked up at sea were brought to the United States. In an effort to bring the exodus to an end, then-President Bill Clinton ordered the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict those at sea. The change took effect 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 pri-
orities,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “The Cuban government has agreed to accept the return of Cuban nationals who have been ordered removed, just as it has been accepting the return of migrants interdicted at sea.”
After outlining the policy, the White House held a call with Cuban Americans who support of the administration. They were told that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team was briefed, one person on the call said.
Immigration analysts say a change in U.S. immigration policy toward Cuba had to be immediate to prevent a wave of Cubans trying to reach U.S. shores by raft or boat or by crossing at the U.S. border with Mexico to beat a deadline.
Cuba has complained repeatedly that the wet-foot, dry-foot policy has served as a magnet, encouraging Cubans to make dangerous sea passages and siphoning off Cuban professionals who want to improve their economic situation.
The Cuban government announced the policy change in a national broadcast Thursday evening, calling the end to wet-foot, dry-foot “an important step” in resolving illegal migration and brought an end to “special treatment” for those fleeing illegally.
The White House also said it was ending the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program that gives preferential treatment to Cuban medical professional who want to come to the United States.
“The United States and Cuba are working together to combat diseases that endanger the health and lives of our people. By providing preferential treatment to Cuban medical personnel, the medical parole program contradicts those efforts, and risks harming the Cuban people,” the president said.
Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen objected to the curtailment of the medical parole program. The Obama administration, she said, “has traded wet foot/ dry foot for the elimination of an important program which was undermining the Castro regime by providing an outlet for Cuban doctors to seek freedom from forced labor which only benefits an oppressive regime.”
A Department of Homeland Security official said an immigration lottery that allows at least 20,000 Cubans to emigrate to the United States legally each year would remain in effect. The Cuban family reunification program, which allows legal residents in the U.S. to apply for relatives to join them, will also continue.
In the past year, record numbers of Cuban migrants have taken advantage of the special U.S. policy that allows Cubans who reach U.S. territory to stay and ask for political asylum. Those Cubans who are interceptedat sea are generally sent back to the island unless they can make a case that they would face political persecution on their return.
Last fiscal year, more than 51,000 Cubans arrived at U.S. border points or via sea without visas, according of official figures.
“Since I took office, we have put the Cuban-American community at the center of our policies,” Obama said. “With this change, we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws.”
In recent years, since Cuba liberalized its immigration policy to allow its citizens to remain outside the country for up to two years without losing any benefits of their Cuban citizenship, some migrants have taken advantage of the loophole to come and go freely after being adjusted into the United States, claiming benefits from both countries.
Some members of the Florida congressional delegation have criticized this revolving door, but Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, a Cuban exile, blasted Obama for giving Castro a parting gift.
“This is just a going-away present from Obama to Raul Castro,” he said.
Regalado said he doesn’t believe ending the policy will slow the flow of Cubans coming to the U.S. All it does, he says, is throw the process into question.
“The question now is what will happen when the Cubans arrive in the (Florida) Keys and cross the border?” he said.
U.S. officials said the United States and Cuba had been negotiating the change with Cuba for several months. Cuba and the United States convened a meeting in Washington on Thursday, which will continue today, to discuss effort to fight human trafficking. This is their fourth meeting on the topic.
Dialogues on various topics of mutual interest have been underway with Cuba since Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17, 2014, that the two countries would renew diplomatic relations and work toward normalization of their troubled relationship.