Commentary: U.S. should repeal law that gives Cubans expedited path to citizenship
U.S. should repeal law that gives Cubans expedited path to citizenship
Cuban Adjustment Act is hindering normalization of relations.
By Editorial New York Times
December 23, 2015 — 6:58pm
Tens of thousands of Cubans have taken to the seas and embarked on perilous journeys by land this year, headed to the United States. The new exodus, the largest wave of Cuban migrants since the 1990s, is driven by hopelessness at home and fear that the unique treatment Cuban immigrants receive from Washington could end, now that diplomatic relations have been restored.
With one year left in office, the Obama administration appears disinclined to scrap the policy, which gives virtually every Cuban who reaches American soil the automatic right to settle in the United States and apply for citizenship in a few years. Officials have long worried that winding down the program could trigger a stampede of Cuban migrants, an outcome that could mar President Obama’s legacy on Cuba.
Still, it is time to do away with the policy, a Cold War relic that is hindering the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana. Congress should repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act, a 1966 law that created an expedited mechanism to admit Cubans at a time when the U.S. was seeking to undermine a Soviet ally. Under a long-standing policy, called “Wet Foot, Dry Foot,” Cubans who reach the U.S. get to stay, and those interdicted at sea are returned home.
. . .
If lawmakers don’t act, the Obama administration has several options. The Cuban Adjustment Act gives the executive branch discretion to admit Cubans who arrive on America’s shores, but it does not require that the government do so. The Obama administration should negotiate a new agreement with the Cuban government that makes orderly immigration the norm. Cubans who arrive in the U.S. without authorization should be sent back unless they show a credible fear of persecution. The U.S. also should end a separate program that encourages Cuban medical professionals on government assignments abroad to defect to this country.
More:
http://www.dailycamera.com/editorials/ci_29307997/editorial-obama-should-close-gitmo-his-own
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