US BLASTS CUBAN MIGRATION POLICIES In a diplomatic note made public this week, State Department officials accused the Cuban government of failing to adhere to a 1994 agreement that would allow 20,000 Cubans to immigrate to the US each year. According to the note, in recent months more and more of those picked up by the Coast Guard between Cuba and Florida have visas that would allow them to live in the US. The note accuses the Cuban government of refusing to give exit visas to those people, forcing them to make a dangerous journey to come to the US. The note documents the cases of 117 people who had US immigrant visas who were denied Cuban exit visas over a single 75-day period.
The Cuban government has not yet released an official response, but a spokesperson for the Cuban mission in Washington, D.C., said the US is responsible for the Cubans who die attempting to come to the US. The Cuban government has long maintained that the US policy of allowing Cubans who make it to US soil to apply for permanent residence encourages Cubans to risk their lives to come to the US.
The Cuban visa lottery, which makes 20,000 immigrant visas available to Cubans, was introduced in 1994 as part of an agreement between the US and Cuba to address staggering numbers of Cuban rafters trying to enter the US in the summer of 1994. Another part of the agreement created what has become known as the wet foot/dry foot policy, under which Cubans are repatriated if apprehended before they make it to US soil. Once on US soil, they are eligible to stay under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
In other US-Cuba immigration news, the US State Department has denied a visa to the president of the Cuban National Assembly, preventing him from participating in an international conference of legislators in New York. Ricardo Alarcon accused the US of showing a lack of respect for the conference, and of attempting to interfere with it. Two other Cuban officials were granted visas and will attend the conference. And on the eve of publishing this week, word is out that Fidel Castro himself is seeking a visa to attend the conference in New York, the first time he has sought entry to the US in about five years.
Finally, late this week, whether in response to the US diplomatic note is unknown, the Cuban government announced that it was prepared to schedule a time for the next migration conference between the US and Cuba. Since the 1994 migration accords were reached, these conferences have been held twice a year, but the last conference, scheduled for June, was cancelled in the wake of the Elian Gonzalez custody dispute. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
