“Wet foot, dry foot” policy ends

| January 13, 2017

For decades, the US had a policy for Cuban immigrants that allowed them to remain in the US if they were able to make it our shores. According to CNN, that policy ended this week with the Obama Administration;

“By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries,” Obama wrote in a statement Thursday.

“The United States, a land of immigrants, has been enriched by the contributions of Cuban-Americans for more than a century,” he continued. “Since I took office, we have put the Cuban-American community at the center of our policies. With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws.”

[…]

The US said Cuba had agreed as part of the announcement to accept migrants who were turned away from the United States back into the country.

Havana has long argued the policy encourages Cubans to make the dangerous crossing from Cuba to Florida. Immigrants from other nations have argued the policy amounts to preferential treatment for one group.

The decision was likely Obama’s last move in his historic dealings with Cuba. In 2014, he reopened ties to the island nation after a half-century of frozen diplomatic ties.

“During my administration, we worked to improve the lives of the Cuban people — inside of Cuba — by providing them with greater access to resources, information and connectivity to the wider world,” Obama said. “Sustaining that approach is the best way to ensure that Cubans can enjoy prosperity, pursue reforms and determine their own destiny.”

This is the same administration that encouraged millions of Central Americans to make the journey across our borders. The same political party that establishes “sanctuary cities” across the country to harbor those illegal immigrants. From what I understand, there are more Cubans in prison for political reasons today than there were before we “normalized” relations with them in 2014.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said [Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont], long a proponent of thawing relations between the US and Cuba. “We were telling the rest of the world they were different, and I don’t think that was the right thing to do.”

Yeah, Leahy smuggled sperm from a Cuban spy in a US prison to his wife in Cuba so they could conceive while the husband was in prison.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden

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The Other Whitey

And out of all the varieties of people trying to get into America illegally, Cubans are the ones who:

A) Have a legit claim to political refugee/asylum status, and…

B) For all intents and purposes don’t really have a legal way to get here, because the Castro regime doesn’t want to let anyone out, lest they dispute El Presidente’s “socialist island paradise” bullshit.

Yef

From what i hear, they are letting anyone get out of cuba these days.

Its not like in the old days when they would put people in jail for “illegal exit”.

Sonny's Mom

The “visa lottery” for 20,000 people stays in place. But until this is reversed, visa-holders won’t be guaranteed asylum. And trying to escape Cuba (making a run for it without a visa) is still a crime.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265451/obama-feeds-cubas-firing-squads-matthew-vadum

Yef

Meanwhile, thousands of members of the religion of peace keep coming to America legally without being vetted.

Is the Prezidenth punishing cubans for voting Republican?

On the other hand, many of the new immigration coming from Cuba is back in the island 6 months later with gifts for their families courtesy of the American taxpayer.

A lot of the cubans coming these days are not like the old cuban immigration.

So I guess I don’t have a position on this issue

On the one hand this is clearly the community disorganizer in chief trying to make life harder for the Trumpminator when he takes over and punishing the cubans for voting republican.
On the other hand the new cuban immigration are hardly political refugees, going back to Cuba to show off their newly acquired wealth from welfare almost immediately.

So I don’t know.

On the 3rd hand, anything Zero does is designed to hurt America….

MSG Eric

You’re right. You seem rather confused on this issue. What sources are you using to determine your talking points by the way?

Private Parts

Odd seeing that a good chunk of Cubans vote Republican and this sound like a middle finger to them.

Perhaps I have tinfoil nearby.

Private Parts

Sounds*

Glad somebody threw an elaboration up before I did.

Climb to Glory

I was thinking the same thing when I saw this yesterday. He’s giving a lot of people the middle finger on his way out the door, so it’s definitely a valid theory. He’s a narcissistic asshole. Fuck him and fuck the rest of the retards in his feckless administration.

Bernie Hackett

Climb, well and succinctly put.

Ex-PH2

The use of the term ‘migrant’ implies that these incoming emigrants from other countries aren’t planning to stay, any more than geese and ducks stay when they migrate from Wisconsin to Florida. But what can you expect from someone who says he went to Harvard, but hasn’t coughed up his degree so far? I don’t care about his grades, let’s see his sheepskin.

Hey, if that twit goes back to Malaysia, do you think that will piss off anyone in his immediate familial territory? Or am I just daydreaming?

Yef

And then there is the Miami Retirement Plan, in which the cuban gruberment sends all the old people from the island, who of course have never contributed to our social security, and they get here and start cashing the SS and sending half the money to cuba.

2/17 Air Cav

“The United States, a land of immigrants….” No we’re not. We are a sovereign nation of citizens, many of whom can trace their lineage to former immigrants.

John Robert Mallernee

When I was in Basic Combat Training, we had a “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy.

Because of all the frequent rain at Fort Lewis, Washington, we were issued two (02) pairs of combat boots, which we were required to rotate everyday, with one pair to have a small dot of white shoe polish placed on the back, so that our Drill Sergeant could see that we were, indeed, changing our boots daily.

Again, because of the constantly changing weather, we were also issued rubber overshoes, which we carried strapped beneath our butt packs, and in addition to the normal poncho, we were issued rain pants and a rain jacket (a pullover style with a hood).

MSG Eric

Wow, we still did the dots when I went in the early 90s. Though they weren’t doing Basic at Ft Lewis anymore. We just got a poncho though.

Our Drills made it seem a big deal at first, but they never really checked for dots after a day or two. I did swap my boots out daily though, it did seem to help with all the marching and field training we did.

MSGT_RET

Take it from someone who has worked in immigration for 16 years, including time as an Asylum Officer…this is long overdue.

For every Cuban that has a legitimate claim to asylum, there are at least 50 who claim they can’t go back because the conditions are so terrible, yet a year after becoming asylees and obtaining a permanent resident card, they make 4-5 trips back to Cuba every year. In some cases they spend the bulk of thier time in Cuba, all while collecting welfare benefits and social security (if old enough) from the United States without having ever worked a single day here. Its a huge scam at the taxpayers expense.

It gets even better. Once a Cuban aslyee has at least a year in that status, they qualify for a permanent resident card. They then get a rollback on resident status to when they came initially entered as an asylee, which means they get an accelerated path to citizenship.

If a Cuban permanent resident then marries someone from another country, that spouse and any children (even from a prior marriage) now get treated as if they were Cubans and they immediately qualify for permanent resident status with a rollback date that matches the Cuban’s initial entry. It boggles the mind.

If you complain about the immigration situation in this country and you voted for Trump, you should be extrememly pleased with this policy. Put your hatred of Obama aside. This is a smart policy.

Tony180a

Good info. Early 90’s I was TDY aboard the USCG Cutter Steadfast. This was prior to the establishment of the tent city where they kept Haitian refugees at Guantanamo. Interdiction policy at that time was any Haitian vessel sailing in international waters with refugees was boarded, refugees brought on board the cutter, Haitian vessel sunk and refugees repatriated back to Haiti.

At the beginning of the tour policy changed because of human rights abuses done by the Haitian government to the refugees that were returned. Over a 1 month period there were over 300 Haitians had been brought aboard the Steadfast living and sleeping under tarps on the flight deck, fantail and focsile. The cutter continued interdiction operations awaiting a decision where to take the refugees. During these interdiction operations 6 Cuban refugees were picked up from a raft that was literally made from inflated tire inner tunes lashed together. The 6 Cubans were flown from the Steadfast via helicopter to Miami the next day and granted political asylum. I talked with several INS agents that were flown out to conduct interviews with the Haitians on board and ironically only 1 Haitian was granted asylum. The one that had in excess of $15K USD on him when he was brought on board.

John Robert Mallernee

When I was working at the Utah State Prison, we had some Cuban inmates who were afraid of their scheduled return to Cuba.

But, fortunately, just in the nick of time (for ME!), a homemade pistol, ammunition, and a written plan was discovered in one of the Cuban inmate’s cells.

According to their plan, to keep from being returned to Cuba, at a specified moment, those inmates would commit a new felony, seizing and shooting a Correctional Supervisor as he was making his nightly rounds.

By doing so, they assumed they would have to be tried and sentenced in the United States, thus delaying any scheduled deportation, possibly indefinitely.

Apparently, they weren’t after me personally, for the attack on any officer would suffice, but as it happened, I was the one who was scheduled to work that particular shift.

I reckon I was pretty lucky, huh?

SSG E

Wow. That’s crazy…glad it was found in time!

MSG Eric

That is good information to know.

However, Calling Bullshit on Obama is still acceptable because he is not doing this for any of those reasons. He is doing it to continue the outward “appreciation and acceptance” of our adversaries while pissing off our allies as much as possible, until the last possible minute.

This is also about how communist/socialist countries and ways of life really are awesome and wonderful (not that he’d move there to live or anything).

He is doing this because of his own blind idealism and teachings from his comrade professors, along with his own egotistical desperation for legacy of making the US what he wants it to be.

A smart leader could fix those bureaucratic loopholes with Congress easily and we’d be better for it. (Oh, you came here for asylum, but you went back to Cuba 4-5 times this year huh? Well, you can’t come back again AND no more checks biatch. Boom.)

Old 1SG, US Army (retired)

Barry O is full of himself… Once again he picks the winners and losers!

Anyone from Cuba who makes to our shores and gets sent back is doomed to jail or worse.

But it’s OK to bring in un-vetted questionable people from the middle east (yes that’s right I said) and welcome anyone from south of the border (also un-vetted and breaking our laws) into the good old USA.

I guess we can overlook our sovereignty for a few new democrat voters.

ex-OS2

I bet Lars “Zika-Commie” Taylor is pleased with this.

Don’t fear the commie!

MSGT_RET

The majority of immigrant advocacy groups, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association, are very much against this policy change. I doubt Lars is in favor of it.

ex-OS2

Perhaps you are correct, Lars says that we should not fear communism.

MSG Eric

And I’m sure they’ll find a way to blame the republicans for it.

NR Pax

Yeah, Leahy smuggled sperm from a Cuban spy in a US prison

Must have had good control to keep from swallowing it. I’m not judging his lifestyle though.

UpNorth

Obviously his flight to Cuber had smooth skies.

MSG Eric

Well, she really only need a drop or two. I’m sure she didn’t miss the rest of it.