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NEW DIALOGUE: Cuban immigration, Haitian repatriation |
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Written by CLAUDE LOUSSAINT
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 Recently, 34 Cuban refugees landed in Palm Beach County.
The U.S. Federal government says it tries to “discourage illegal migration by sea,” according to Barbara Gonzalez, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Yet, “these refugees are expected to be released to family members,” observed Robert Swathwood of the U.S. Border Patrol.
It should be noted the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 that once provided blanket amnesty to Cuban refugees upon reaching U.S soil was repealed by President Clinton in 1994. The ultimate question is on what legal ground are these Cubans being released? Since Cubans are treated differently from Haitians, does that constitute disparate treatment in violation of U.S. federal laws?
Every aspect of immigration from admission to naturalization is governed by laws, regulations, policies and judicial decisions that have a significant impact on the decisions of immigration officials. At issue here is immigration officials’ interpretation of the Cuban Migration Act of 1994-95.
In 1994, the number of Cubans who attempted to migrate to the U.S. alarmingly reached 40,000. In an attempt to prevent a crisis, (much like the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 when 125,000 Cuban refugees were admitted to the U.S.), the Clinton administration repealed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 and prohibited Cuban refugees’ entry into the U.S. until reaching an agreement with the Cuban government. During that time, both Cuban and Haitian refugees were encamped in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The agreements between the U.S. and Cuba strived for a safe, legal, orderly migration policy, and included these four major points:
1. The U.S. agreed to no longer allow Cubans intercepted at sea to enter the United States;
2. The U.S. and Cuba agreed to work together while adhering to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Alien Smuggling;
3. The U.S. agreed to annually admit 20,000 immigrants from Cuba, in addition to immediate relatives of U.S citizens and resident aliens; and
4. The U.S and Cuba agreed to cooperate on the voluntary return of Cubans who arrive in the United States or are intercepted at sea.
It is alleged that the Cuban Migration Act of 1994 and 1995 have produced a Wet Foot, Dry Foot policy. This means the U.S. would stop admitting Cubans intercepted at sea, and Cubans caught at sea (i.e., with wet feet) would summarily be sent to Cuba.
Cubans who reached U.S. soil (dry feet) would be permitted to remain in the United States, and are eligible to adjust their status to Permanent Residence. This policy is in contradiction and violation of the third provision of the Cuban Migration Act of 1994, which clearly states that: “The United States and Cuba agreed to cooperate on the voluntary return of Cubans who arrived in the United States or were intercepted at sea.”
There is no special consideration afforded to Cubans in the act itself based on the way in which the “Wet Feet/Dry Feet Policy” is interpreted. Even according to international law governing the rights of refugees to which the United States is a signatory, Cuban migrants intercepted at sea are entitled, much like any refugee, an opportunity to express a legitimate fear of persecution if returned to Cuba.
Legal Procedures for Cubans to Immigrate to the United States
Cubans in Cuba can safely, orderly, and legally migrate to the U.S. through several migration programs, including immigrant visa, refugee admission, the diversity lottery, and the Special Cuban Migration Program (SCMP), also known as the Cuban Lottery. As a result of the Cuban Migration Agreement of September 1994, at least 20,000 immigrants from Cuba are permitted to immigrate to the United States, in addition to immediate relatives of U.S citizens and legal residents. In addition, Cubans in Cuba are allowed to participate in the Diversity Lottery, by which 55,000 visas are provided for citizens of the world who want to immigrate to the United States.
The laws of the United States have played a significant role in transforming America into a model nation for tolerance and ethnic and religious freedoms for scores of oppressed individuals in the past several decades. Starting with Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, and the interpretation of the nation’s Civil Rights Laws, the U.S. government has been at the forefront of America’s efforts to fulfill the nation’s mandate written in the Declaration of Independence that “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
More ethnic minorities and women than ever before are living the American Dream because of America’s strong interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
On the other hand, the unfair treatment of Haitian migrants in comparison to Cubans leads one to believe that many of the gains ethnic minorities have made in the areas of civil rights are being reversed before our very eyes. The “Anecdotal Wet Foot Dry Foot” policy represents a major deviation from the American laws designed to eradicate racial discrimination and guarantee equal protection under the law.
The U.S., a nation of immigrants, has a well-documented history of disparate treatment of Haitian refugees under the immigration process – case in point, the immigration practices applied to Cuban and Haitian refugees. Cubans who reach American shores are always welcomed into the United States, while Haitian immigrants are summarily repatriated to Haiti without due process or the same respect and dignity afforded to Cuban immigrants.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once observed that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The great people of the United States have a duty and a responsibility to denounce the blatant, discriminatory U.S Immigration policy between Cuban and Haitian refugees.
The U.S. Congress should introduce legislation to eliminate the blatant disparities between Cubans and Haitians.
Claude Louissaint is a human services administrator for Broward County government and is a former associate publisher for the Haitian Times newspaper.
Photo: Claude Loussaint.
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