Cubans risking their lives en route to US as thaw triggers immigration policy fears
*Meanwhile, 307 immigrants died last year (that we know) attempting to cross the desert into the U.S. In 2013 the number was 445. President Obama says nothing will change with regard to the U.S. policy toward Cuban immigrants. VL
By Richard Luscombe, The Guardian
Weather-beaten, gaunt and exhausted, Ramón Pérez still seemed dazed as he quietly recounted the six-day sea journey from Cuba to Miami he undertook in a tiny homemade boat with 11 others and a dog.
[pullquote]Officially, the Obama administration insists nothing will change.[/pullquote]Surging numbers of Cubans have been fleeing the island to try to reach the United States despite – or more accurately because of – the recent thaw in relations between Washington and Havana. The US coast guard reports that it has intercepted and repatriated more than 4,300 in the 12 months since last October, 600 more than the previous year, and US Customs and Border Protection figures earlier in the year reflected a 118 per cent spike in Cubans seeking asylum at land borders with Mexico and in Miami.
Experts say the surge has been triggered by fears that the recent détente may prompt the US to revise its “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy which grants unique immigration privileges to Cubans. Under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, any migrant intercepted at sea is sent back, but those Cubans who make it to land can stay, and can apply for permanent residency after a year and a day.
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[Photo by Coast Guard News/Flickr]
