The United States gives migrants from Cuba special treatment that no other group of refugees or immigrants receives.
It begins with the so-called “wet-foot, dry-foot policy” that puts Cubans who reach U.S. soil on a fast track to permanent residency. The government initiated the policy in 1995 as an amendment to the1966 Cuban Adjustment Act that Congress passed when Cold War tensions ran high between the U.S. and the island nation.
Under the amendment, when a Cuban migrant is apprehended in the water between the two countries, he is considered to have “wet feet” and is sent back home. A Cuban who makes it to the U.S. shore, however, can claim “dry feet” and qualify for legal permanent resident status and U.S. citizenship.
The law does make …show more content…
government’s response was to use interdiction at sea and the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy to discourage Cubans from leaving. The U.S. Coast Guard and Border Patrol agents intercepted roughly 35,000 Cubans in the year leading up to the policy’s implementation.
The favored treatment Cubans have enjoyed has brought criticism of the U.S. policy. For example, refugees from Haiti and the Dominican Republic have come to the U.S. on the same boat with Cubans but have been returned to their homelands. Critics argue that, in 2014, Cuban migrants should be considered economic refugees, not refugees fleeing persecution.
The difference originates in Cold War politics from the 1960s. After the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs, the U.S. government started viewing migrants from Cuba through a political prism. On the other hand, officials view migrants from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other nations in the region as economic refugees who almost always won’t qualify for political asylum.
The U.S. government also admits about 20,000 Cubans each year through a visa lottery program.
The “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy has created some bizarre theater along Florida’s coasts over the years. At times, the Coast Guard has used water cannons and aggressive interception techniques to force boats of migrants away from land and prevent them from touching U.S.
It begins with the so-called “wet-foot, dry-foot policy” that puts Cubans who reach U.S. soil on a fast track to permanent residency. The government initiated the policy in 1995 as an amendment to the1966 Cuban Adjustment Act that Congress passed when Cold War tensions ran high between the U.S. and the island nation.
Under the amendment, when a Cuban migrant is apprehended in the water between the two countries, he is considered to have “wet feet” and is sent back home. A Cuban who makes it to the U.S. shore, however, can claim “dry feet” and qualify for legal permanent resident status and U.S. citizenship.
The law does make …show more content…
government’s response was to use interdiction at sea and the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy to discourage Cubans from leaving. The U.S. Coast Guard and Border Patrol agents intercepted roughly 35,000 Cubans in the year leading up to the policy’s implementation.
The favored treatment Cubans have enjoyed has brought criticism of the U.S. policy. For example, refugees from Haiti and the Dominican Republic have come to the U.S. on the same boat with Cubans but have been returned to their homelands. Critics argue that, in 2014, Cuban migrants should be considered economic refugees, not refugees fleeing persecution.
The difference originates in Cold War politics from the 1960s. After the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs, the U.S. government started viewing migrants from Cuba through a political prism. On the other hand, officials view migrants from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other nations in the region as economic refugees who almost always won’t qualify for political asylum.
The U.S. government also admits about 20,000 Cubans each year through a visa lottery program.
The “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy has created some bizarre theater along Florida’s coasts over the years. At times, the Coast Guard has used water cannons and aggressive interception techniques to force boats of migrants away from land and prevent them from touching U.S.