Thread: CUBAN MIGRATION TO MIAMI SURGES BY 200 PERCENT AMID FEARS OVER U.S. POLICY

CUBAN MIGRATION TO MIAMI SURGES BY 200 PERCENT AMID FEARS OVER U.S. POLICY

BY JESSICA WEISS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015 | 4 HOURS AGO

Cuban migration to the U.S. has surged since Obama's announcement that the two nations would restore diplomatic ties. Photo by U.S. Coast Guard

Cuban migration to Miami has risen sharply since President Obama’s historic December announcement that he plans to restore diplomatic relations between the two nations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stats obtained by Miami New Times show.

In the first three months of the year, 2,701 Cubans arrived in Miami. That’s up 211 percent from the same period in 2014, when 866 Cubans landed here. And it's a 25 percent increase from the last three months of 2014, when 2,131 Cubans arrived.

Many experts attribute the rise to Cuban fears that the thawing of relations between the two countries will mean a change in U.S. policy toward immigrants from the island. Cubans currently enjoy unique immigration privileges under the "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, or the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act, which allows Cubans who lay their feet on American soil to remain in the country.

The situation is the same in Laredo, Texas, the main U.S. entry point for Cubans coming from Mexico, where 6,094 Cubans arrived in the first three months of the year, up from 3,020 between January and March of last year — a 102 percent jump, according to the statistics.

U.S. officials have repeatedly assured Cubans that nothing has changed in American immigration policy since Obama’s announcement.

Under the 1996 adjustment act — widely known as wet-foot, dry-foot — Cubans who reach the United States may stay in the country and apply for permanent residence after one year. Those intercepted at sea are sent back to Cuba.

In December, the U.S. Coast Guard captured 481 Cuban migrants, according to a January 14 article by Capt. Pat DeQuattro published on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations. That’s a 117 percent increase from the same month a year before.

Earlier this month, incredible images surfaced of Cuban balseros arriving on the shores of a busy Hollywood, Florida beach.

Cuban pop culture is also echoing the new boom in raft-born migrations. Yesterday a video by the Cuban group El Chichi and Cuba 360 surfaced parodying Enrique Iglesias’ popular song "Bailando," substituting "bailando" in the chorus with "remando," or "rowing."

It's set in Havana, and the lyrics explore the ideology, politics, and misery of life on the island. The video is making waves across the internet:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/cu...policy-7610624

More than adequate Cubans were allowed into America in the 1960's. NO more needed, turn them around with the paper work to make a lawful application for admission! Git'er done!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 07:58 PM

By: REUTERS

The number of Cuban migrants looking to enter the United States ballooned in early 2015, partly driven by uncertainty over the future of special immigration consideration for Cubans after the two countries announced efforts to improve ties.

In the first three months of the year, 9,371 Cubans arrived in the United States, mostly on the Mexico border and in Miami, an increase of 118 percent over same period in 2014, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Experts say the numbers indicate a surge since the Dec. 17 announcement of efforts by the presidents of Cuba and the United States to restore diplomatic ties and work to normalize relations after more than 50 years of hostility.

"Cubans on the island are increasingly concerned that the special legal status that they have under current U.S. law might be taken away," said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

Under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of 1966 Cubans who reach U.S. soil have the right to stay and seek residency, a status not offered to any other nationality. A policy known as "wet foot, dry foot" means only those Cubans intercepted at sea are sent back to their communist-run island.

The Obama administration has tried to dispel rumors the welcome mat for Cubans will be withdrawn. "The Administration's recent announcement regarding Cuba has not changed or altered in any significant way the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act," the Customs and Border Protection agency said in a statement to Reuters.

Iris Calle, a spokeswoman for Miami's Church World Services, which offers assistance to new arrivals, says it has been inundated with Cuban refugees since mid-December.

Lady Castillo Miranda, who was waiting to meet a caseworker, told Reuters she and her brother were among 13 aboard a boat that came ashore on Dec 28. A 23-year-old resident of Santa Cruz, Cuba, Miranda said she had attempted two crossings in the last two years. "I had to try again because I heard the law was going to change," she said.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it spotted 2,500 migrants since the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, almost all of whom were repatriated. The Coast Guard counted 3,677 Cubans seeking to reach Florida during its 2014 fiscal year.

Many cross the 90-mile (140-km) Florida Straits on makeshift rafts. Those who reach soil usually come on sturdier home-made boats.

U.S. officials note that the numbers of migrants were already trending upwards before the Dec. 17 accords.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/cub.../13/id/644464/

Originally Posted by kevinssdad

More than adequate Cubans were allowed into America in the 1960's. NO more needed, turn them around with the paper work to make a lawful application for admission! Git'er done!

No admission. Our inn is full. There are no vacancies.

10 Year Moratorium on Immigration Now.

This is why O renewed relations with Cuba - so we can have EVEN MORE hispanics on the dole in the USA.

mexicans were not enough, now the central americans, hondurans, costa ricans etc; all men that have no respect for women - any female over the age of 10 is fair game for rape.