Since then, in what has become known as the “Wet foot, Dry foot” policy, a Cuban caught on the waters between the two nations (with “wet feet”) would summarily be sent home or to a third country.
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President-elect Donald Trump, who has been critical of improving relations with Cuba, could undo the new rule after taking office. So when they come over here, they’re looking for a better life for themselves, but if it’s so bad, why do you continue going back? The policy was cancelled immediately to prevent a chaotic wave of migration from the island.
Thousands of Cubans have migrated to the U.S.by land. Many didn’t make it.
As of today, if a Cuban doctor attempts to escape tyranny and deprivation, makes it to the United States shore, he’ll be turned around and left to the devices of a communist dictator and his regime. Some have fallen prey to human traffickers.
The policy treated Cuban refugees differently than all other migrants, as they were the only ones officially allowed to remain in the United States if they lacked necessary paperwork to stay.
But that puts thousands of Cubans who are already en route to the U.S.in a very hard situation because they’d have to backtrack to their island to apply for a visa.
But as US/Cuban relations have thawed, and an increase in Cuban people moving to the US has occurred, Obama took the decision to scrap the policy, along with the Cuban Medical Professional Parole programme, which granted visas to those in the medical field. “I’m relieved that we made it, but sad for the others waiting on the bridge”. The number of Cubans who entered in the Miami sector during fiscal 2015 more than doubled from the previous year, from 4,709 to 9,999, and this number rose again (to 10,992) in fiscal 2016. Fidel Castro is dead and Raul Castro won’t be around forever.
Since October 2012, more than 118,000 Cubans have arrived at United States ports, according to statistics published by the Homeland Security Department, including more than 48,000 people who arrived between October 2015 and November 2016. The policy favored Cuban migrants over those who fled other countries. No other immigrant community is afforded the same on-arrival treatment.
For 32-year-old Cuban electrical engineer Yuniesky Marcos Roque and his son, Kevin, crossing the border into the United States on Thursday night was a bittersweet moment.
The so-called wet foot/dry foot policy had been in place for more than 20 years.
Trump’s in a tricky spot. If he sticks with Obama’s decision, he angers politicians like Sen. The “wet foot, dry foot” policy has been an enduring problem that decades of hostility and isolation failed to solve. “Obama has screwed all Cubans”, he told the Manila Times.
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According to the official that confirmed the news, the end of the policy will be happening right away.
