For the last 50 years, Cuban migrants have been granted pure amnesty under U.S. federal law.
Under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, Cubans who have been physically present in the United States for at least one year may adjust to permanent residence status and then be eligible to become a naturalized citizen after just five years.
This act was the result of the geopolitical scene at the time. But a half-century later, there is a stark contrast between what we require all other immigrants wanting to enter the United States and what we require from Cubans.
The process for immigrating to the United States can be years in the works. Many people across the world, and even countries close to home in Latin America, are facing life-threatening situations, so they risk their lives to enter our country illegally. They are apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and many times are placed in federal detention facilities while they await their day in court to present their cases in front of a federal immigration judge, who will decide if they have credible claims to stay in our country.
That process is certainly daunting for many immigrant families, but it’s something Cubans never have had to go through. Cubans who come to our borders never see a U.S. Border Patrol officer and are not placed in detention facilities. Rather, they are given preference among all other immigrants with the privilege of only having to walk across a U.S. land port of entry and simply present themselves to a U.S. customs officer.
Since 1980, Cubans who arrive at a U.S. land port of entry are quickly processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and given entry to our country, where they have immediate access to federal benefits, including housing and food stamps. In a recent article by the Sun Sentinel, it is estimated that the annual cost of taxpayer support for Cuban immigrants is at least $680 million.
The U.S. government gives no other immigrant group this sort of preferential treatment.
With the Cold War long behind us and the restoration of diplomatic ties between our two countries recently, there is no reason why the United States should continue this special status for Cubans under our immigration laws. That’s why Congressman Blake Farenthold (R-TX-27) and I have introduced legislation, the Correcting Unfair Benefits for Aliens Act, to repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act and end the special federal benefits for Cuban migrants.
How can we continue to grant amnesty to migrants from one nation based on outdated rationale and turn away those migrants from other parts of the world, like Mexico and Central America, who are fleeing their countries and whose credible fear of persecution due to unfathomable drug and gang violence is just as, if not more, compelling?
When the Cuban Adjustment Act was implemented, Cubans were fleeing an oppressive regime — they were seeking asylum. While the regime in Cuba is by no means a champion of human rights today, most of the migrants leaving the island are seeking new economic opportunities in the U.S., like so many immigrants from other countries before them.
Because of agreements enacted between the U.S. and Cuban government in the 1990s, any Cuban who arrives on U.S. soil, regardless of the means by which they do so, is allowed to stay with special perks. If a Cuban is interdicted at sea, they are returned to their country. This is commonly referred to as the “wet foot/dry foot” policy.
Recently, because of the danger of crossing by water to South Florida, and the Cuban government relaxing their exit requirements, tens of thousands of Cubans have crossed over by flying to Ecuador, which until December had an open-door policy, and continued to make their way overland to the United States.
Specifically, 62,359 Cubans who arrived at the Laredo Port of Entry, my hometown, since FY 2014 have been given special “parole” status, accounting for a little more than 67 percent of the 93,237 Cubans who have presented themselves at all U.S. land ports of entry during that timeframe.
More than 7,000 Cuban migrants were trapped in Costa Rica in late November when the Nicaraguan government closed its southern borders to Cubans. For months they stayed in refugee camps until several Central American governments joined forces to airlift them out and put them on their way to Mexican border towns, where they would then cross into the United States.
I saw firsthand some of these Cuban migrants in late December with State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX-12), when we visited refugee camps in Costa Rica. I understood their reasons for wanting to come to the U.S.; however, with the more imminent physical danger presented to Mexican, Central American and other immigrants, it is simply unfair to give Cubans amnesty.
My hope with the CUBA Act is to level this playing field for immigrants of all nationalities. People from all countries come to the United States in search of a better life, in search of greater economic opportunity. We should not give preference over the others. Everyone should have the same right to go before our federal immigration judges and present their cases. The judge then decides if they stay or if they will be deported.
It is clear that the current policies around Cuba are a relic of a bygone era and a long-since-passed Cold War. Support for special treatment of Cuba is strong in some quarters, but the reasons for that are based in the past and not in the present or future.
Now that formal diplomatic relations between our two countries have been re-established, it is time that we move our relationship forward by applying to Cuba’s people the same immigration standards we do to those of other countries and stop giving Cubans pure amnesty— $680 million per year is a great burden on U.S. taxpayers.
Henry Cuellar represents Texas’s 28th congressional district. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
