The End of the Cuban Contradiction in U.S. Refugee Policy

Abstract

This article describes and analyzes the Clinton Administrations decision to end the almost automatic acceptance of Cubans as political refugees to the US. The decision came after the Balsero Crisis in July 1994 after many people stormed embassies and diplomatic residences in Havana Cuba demanding asylum and complaining about impoverished living conditions. Riots erupted. The May 2 1995 policy ended the indefinite detention of over 28000 Cubans in safe haven camps repealed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 restricted travel to Cuba halted monetary remittances to Cuba equalized the number of annual visas from Cuba and legalized the return of Cubans adrift at sea. The goals were to solve the immediate migration crisis created by Cubans detained at Guantanamo Bay to implement controls of future waves of Cuban asylum seekers and to oppose Castro with economic and political initiatives. The economic embargo during the 1960s 1970s and 1980s devastated the Cuban economy and led to its alliance with the USSR. Each of the four waves of migration was distinctive in composition and reasons for migrating. By the mid-1990s Cuba was no longer a threat Soviet interests in Cuba had declined and the policy was hoped to bring about the collapse of Castro and promotion of democracy. The 1994 resolution ended the contradictory and preferential treatment of Cubans. It also ended the selectivity of the US in admitting those from countries the US was directly opposed to. The permanence of the embargo due to legislation in 1996 is a push factor for mass migrations.