The Obama administration on Thursday repealed a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the United States, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to US immigration policy.
The end of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached the US soil to stay but returned any picked up at sea, is effective immediately. Cuban officials had sought the change for years.
The shift had been in the works for months. It was announced abruptly because advance warning might have inspired thousands more people to take to the seas between the Communist-ruled island and Florida in order to beat a deadline.
Parole Programme for Cuban Doctors Ends
The United States and Cuba spent several months negotiating the change, including an agreement from Cuba to allow those turned away from the United States to return.
“With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws,” Obama said in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security also ended a parole programme that allowed entry for Cuban medical professionals. That programme was unpopular with Havana because it prompted doctors to leave, sapping the country’s pool of trained health workers.
‘A Detonator of Immigration Crises Is Eliminated’
The US Coast Guard intercepts thousands of Cubans attempting the 145-km crossing to Florida every year, but tens of thousands who reach US soil, including via Mexico, have been allowed to stay in the country, while immigrants from other nations have been rounded up and sent home.
Cuba welcomed the policy changes, saying they would benefit the whole region by discouraging people-trafficking and dangerous journeys that led to bottlenecks of Cubans in Central America last year.
“Today, a detonator of immigration crises is eliminated. The United States achieves legal, secure and ordered migration from Cuba,” said Josefina Vidal, the Cuban foreign ministry's chief for US affairs.
Anticipating the end of the policy, Cuban immigration has surged since the 2014 normalisation, said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser.
“People were motivated to migrate,” Rhodes told reporters on a call, noting some 40,000 Cubans arrived in 2015 and about 54,000 in 2016.
“Wet foot, dry foot” began in 1995 under President Bill Clinton after an exodus of tens of thousands of Cubans who were picked up at sea by the Coast Guard as they tried to reach Florida.
Obama has been working to normalise relations with Cuba since he and President Raul Castro announced a breakthrough in diplomatic relations in December 2014. His administration has eased restrictions on travel and trade, allowing more US business with Cuba and improved communications with the island.
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