 INCREASING NUMBER OF CUBANS REACHING THE US RAISES FEARS OF ANOTHER IMMIGRATION WAVE
The government of Cuba recently issued a statement saying it had no intention of opening its beaches to anyone wishing to go to the US, responding to reports from US media sources, including the government sponsored Radio Marti. The reports were likely sparked by the increasing numbers of Cubans trying to get to the US. Last May, the US Coast Guard detained 272 Cubans found at sea, the highest monthly number since the rafter crisis during the summer of 1994.
Over 200 Cubans were apprehended just off the coast of Florida and on the coast during a five day period at the end of May. Many believe this was a result of the recently announced INS policy to give Cuban refugees employment authorization immediately upon arrival. Immigration advocates, however, say none of the recent arrivals have cited the new policy as a reason for coming.
Accords between the US and Cuba reached after the 1994 crisis made significant changes in US immigration policy toward Cuba. Cubans had been given automatic legal residency in the US; now any Cuban picked up at sea may be repatriated. As part of the agreement Cuba agreed to try to stop illegal immigration to the US, and the US agreed to make 20,000 visas available to Cuban nationals each year. The agreement was recently reaffirmed at the latest biannual round of immigration talks between the two countries.
One result of the new policy of returning Cubans found at sea has been an increase in smuggling. Because Cubans must make it to US territory to avoid repatriation, smugglers are able to charge up to 00 to sneak someone into the US, where they can then reveal themselves to the authorities. Since the 1995 agreement went into effect, the US Coast Guard has returned 2, 057 people to Cuba who were apprehended at sea.
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