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 US-CUBA MIGRATION TALKS RESUME
Migration talks between the US and Cuba, which were suspended last year in the wake of the Elian Gonzalez custody battle and other high profile cases involving Cubans trying to enter the US, resumed this week. The talks focus on the continued implementation of the 1995 migration accords.
Under this agreement, the US is to provide 20,000 visas a year to Cubans who want to immigrate, and is to return Cubans found at sea. Cuba is to discourage illegal migration. Each side has accused the other of failing to adhere to the agreement.
The US has accused Cuba of denying people access to the visas, both by charging prohibitively high fees for exit visas and by refusing to even issue exit visas to some people with valid US visas. Cuba accuses the US of encouraging migration through the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows Cubans to apply for permanent residency after one year in the US, regardless of status.
The migration talks are the only official government relationship between the US and Cuba.
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