Silke Jasso
President Barack Obama has pursued normalizing relations with Communist-ruled Cuba, including ending the Cuban embargo, and he even visited the island last year.
Videos by Rare
The U.S. has long given preferential treatment to Cuban immigrants and refugees. Unlike every other national group, if Cubans could make it successfully to American land (dry feet), they would be granted legal status and put on an expedited path to U.S. citizenship. But if they were apprehended offshore (wet feet), they were returned to Cuba.
RELATED: By all means, let’s speak ill of the dead this week
This had been the law for decades until Thursday, when President Barack Obama ended the policy, effective immediately.
Cuban nationals who enter the United States illegally by any means will now be deported back to Cuba. The Cuban government has agreed to take them back. In a statement, the White House called it an “important step forward to normalize relations with Cuba and to bring greater consistency to our immigration policy.”
The more realistic way to look at this change in policy is that the Obama administration has made it easier for the totalitarian regime of Raul Castro to imprison his people. It bolts shut one of the last remaining doors for Cubans who are looking to make their lives better.
Despite the thaw in relations between the United States and Cuba, the Cuban totalitarian state remains largely intact. The Cuban government still denies passports to dissidents, still does not have free and fair elections, still does not respect freedom of speech and expression, has a strong regime of media censorship, and still restricts freedom of religion. The Cuban constitution still calls the island’s socialist economic system “irrevocable” and restricts entrepreneurship.
RELATED: Why does the left say we must condemn Donald Trump while they praise Fidel Castro?
Cuban-Americans have been an immigration success story. Far from “taking” American jobs, they have built a vibrant community that has actually created untold numbers of jobs. They have strong family structures, and perhaps most importantly, have become Americans by learning English while adopting U.S. culture.
Some might scratch their heads over Obama’s decision. Those scratching should also remember that in addition to making life harder for so many would-be Cuban immigrants, the Obama administration has also deported more people than any other and is currently arguing for the right to indefinitely detain immigrants they plan to deport.
