Bush Administration to Ease Cuban Immigration Rules
NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2006




WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is preparing to ease immigration rules for a limited number of Cubans following Fidel Castro's handoff of power, focusing on reuniting families who have relatives in the United States.

At the same time, draft documents obtained Monday also describe plans to discourage any mass migration from Cuba to the United States. The plan would crack down on smugglers and refuse U.S. entry to Cuban government officials who have engaged in human rights abuses. But it would make it easier for some Cuban doctors to move to the U.S.

While stressing that any policy shift was not yet final, administration officials said the changes could be announced as early as this week.

"Taken together, they promote safe, legal and orderly migration, while they also support the Cuban people in their aspirations for a free and prosperous society," says a draft copy of Homeland Security Department talking points obtained by The Associated Press.

The new rules are being considered three months before elections in which Florida's governorship and at least one U.S. House seat in Florida are considered in play. Many Cuban immigrants live in the state.

The Homeland Security Department oversees U.S. immigration policy.

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