Cubans, Fearing Loss of Favored Status in U.S., Rush to Make an Arduous Journey
Frances Robles of the New York Times reports on a new migration wave to hit th eUnited States.
If that was the kindling, the Obama administration’s decision in 2014 to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba served as the match. Rumors quickly circulated that with embassies reopening, the United States would soon eliminate the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which gives Cubans who make it to the United States a fast track to permanent legal residency.
Tens of thousands of Cubans have plunked down the profits of their home and car sales to pay for a treacherous 5,000-mile journey by plane, bus, boat and foot. Most have begun by flying to Ecuador, which did not used to require a travel visa. Then they have moved on to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of reaching the American border.
The circuitous route allows Cubans to bypass the dangerous trip through the Florida Straits, a crossing that cost many Cubans their lives and where, because of an American policy known as “wet foot, dry foot,” they would be turned back if caught by the Coast Guard.