Thread: Mass Exodus of Cubans After Castro's Death

I am surprised that they are saying that we cannot deal with 500,000 more Cubans arriving but yet Miami has an estimated 825,000 illegals.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... 2454.story

MICA: U.S. ready for Cuban exodus

Tamara Lytle
Washington Bureau Chief
Posted February 1 2007


WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government is ready to stop a mass migration of Cubans to Florida's shores when President Fidel Castro dies, two lawmakers said Wednesday after meeting with military and homeland-security officials.

U.S. Rep. John Mica of Winter Park, the top Republican on the House Transportation Committee, organized the closed-door meeting to find out whether the Coast Guard and other Homeland Security agencies are prepared.

Mica said he was satisfied with what he heard. U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, agreed. The U.S. will not lose control of its borders, Diaz-Balart said. "That's just not an option."

But Andy Gomez, assistant provost of the University of Miami and a scholar on Cuban issues who has met with federal officials about their plan, said they may be underestimating the fallout from Castro's death.

Gomez said as many as 500,000 Cubans could end up fleeing if social and political unrest breaks out on the island just 90 miles from Florida.

Even an influx of 50,000 would be too much for South Florida, which could see the bulk of the refugees, he said, straining schools, jobs, housing, social services and other resources.

An ailing Castro handed over power to his brother, Raul, six months ago. Since then, his health has been the subject of much speculation, with some news reports suggesting he is near death.

Then, this week, he was photographed in a meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Upon Castro's death, Gomez said, his brother likely would be given about six months to try to improve the lot of Cubans' lives before people begin to flee en masse.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil said the government is ready for a mass migration from any Caribbean island.

The Homeland Security Task Force Southeast had exercises in November and December that brought together the various military, state, federal and local officials who would respond.

A full-scale exercise, with role-playing of migrants landing in the U.S. and being interdicted at sea will be conducted March 7-8.

O'Neil said the government has learned lessons from the 1980 Mariel boatlift, in which Castro allowed more than 100,000 people to come to Florida, as well as smaller influxes of Cubans in 1994 and 2004.

Mica's committee oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has taken eight cutters out of service that would have been available to help handle a rush of Cuban evacuees.

However, O'Neil said the crews of those boats could be used to operate small cutters for more hours each day. Aircraft and other ships can be brought in from other parts of the country if needed.

Gomez said many potential pitfalls await any plan to deal with an influx, such as where the refugees would be taken. U.S. policy allows Cubans who reach American soil to have automatic legal status, but those caught at sea are generally sent back.

Any mass migration could inflame the already testy national debate about how open American borders should be.

Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tighter controls, said Cuban migrants are now treated differently -- in winning legal status if they land on U.S. soil -- than people from other countries. That should change, he said.

"The Cuban Adjustment Act is toast once Castro dies. Maybe not immediately," he said.

Maybe you guys out there should just sell Florida to the Cubans and buy Cuba, it seems all the Cubans want to leave and you could probably get a good deal on it.

Sounds good to me. We can have English as our only language, buy property cheap and pay lower porperty taxes, and have no illegals if we desire.

If they come here, Tancredo's claim will have no dispute whatsoever.

BUILD THE FENCE POST HASTE!!!!!OR SOONER!!!

Fence will not do us any good in Florida, as far as cuba goes anyway.

All they have to do is touch the ground....
And they can stay.
To add to our multicultural state
And make Senator Martinez feel more at home.

If our government (or should I say "their government", it doesn't seem like ours anymore) says the Cubans cannot come in a mass exodus, the Cubans here will hit the streets of Miami in protest.

You know where that will get them........."Alright, they can all come, but only if you all promise to vote Democrat!!"

Originally Posted by LegalUSCitizen

If our government (or should I say "their government", it doesn't seem like ours anymore) says the Cubans cannot come in a mass exodus, the Cubans here will hit the streets of Miami in protest.

You know where that will get them........."Alright, they can all come, but only if you all promise to vote Democrat!!"

Hear!! Hear!!! you are right about that, I'm telling you, you would get alot further if you change that name to illegaluscitizen

I think many of the people who want their relatives are getting them here now to avoid potential problems later. More of them have been landing here lately. Many of them don't necessarily want all of them here after all we all have some relatives we don't like. Then there is also a concern about prisoners being sent here as Castro did in the past.
It will prove interesting once Castro dies. There was suppose to be a big party at the Orange Bowl once he dies. They were actually going to sell T shirts. There was such a public out cry including from many Cubans and it has been called off. Thess articles were in the Miami Herald. After reading both articles all I thought of was Tancredo.