CUBA-U.S.: Expansion of Immigration Accords on the Cards for 1997

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Dec 6 1996 (IPS) - The latest round of U.S.- Cuban immigration talks laid the groundwork for an expansion of existing accords in 1997.

Not only those Cubans intercepted in their illegal attempt to enter the United States would be repatriated — in accordance with the current agreements — but also all undocumented Cubans who actually made it in.

A late February incident in which the Cuban air force shot down two civilian airplanes and the approval in March of the Helms- Burton act stiffening the U.S. blockade brought the negotiations to a standstill.

But the process that began in September 1994 following a massive exodus of Cubans in makeshift rafts and rickety boats — known locally as ‘rafters’ — got underway again in a sixth round of talks this week.

“We are willing to deport all Cubans who illegally arrive to the United States, as long as the government accepts them,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central America and the Caribbean John Hamilton told a press conference.

Hamilton headed the U.S. delegation to this week’s round of talks, which followed up on compliance with the accords reached in the 1980s and 90s.

The president of the Cuban parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, who led his country’s delegation, said the new mechanism would “put an end to the illegitimate and injurious manipulation” of a legitimate human right, which, however, “must be directed in an orderly manner.”

“That would really be the end of the story of the rafters,” said an expert with the University of Havana, who predicted that the announcement of the possible accord would hit the Cuban exile community in Miami “like a bomb.”

From May 1995 to November 1996, U.S. authorities deported 504 undocumented Cubans attempting to reach U.S. territory by sea or through the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo, some 900 kms southeast of Havana.

But more than 100 ‘rafters’ who made it to the southern part of the state of Florida have not been repatriated, and hope to be accepted as residents under current laws. Thousands of Cubans have been admitted under a law that entitles the Justice Department to accept or reject any undocumented Cuban who reaches U.S. territory.

The potential new accord to put an end to unauthorised immigration would still leave those who travel to the United States with a work visa or to visit family members the possibility of obtaining residency.

The 1990 census reported nearly 1,044,000 Cubans living in the United States, accounting for nine percent of all inhabitants of Hispanic origin and 7.5 percent of those living in Florida.

“The deportation of Cuban rafters from North American soil would be intolerable while Cuba continues to be oppressed,” Republican Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, of Cuban origin, said in Miami, alluding to the case of dozens of ‘rafters’ being held by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.

Alarcon said here that this week’s round of talks could cover those who reached the United States since the May 1995 accords which stipulate the repatriation of undocumented immigrants intercepted in their attempts.

Experts with the University of Havana’s Centre on U.S. Studies say Washington wants Cuba to lose its status as an exception in U.S. immigration policy, even if that move costs the government the support of the most influential sectors of the Cuban exile community.

During this week’s negotiations, both sides reiterated their commitment to achieving “safe, legal and orderly” immigration. They also agreed to make the talks a regular consultation mechanism.

By contrast with prior rounds, when the only aspect publicly discussed was compliance with the accords reached following the summer of 1994 “rafters crisis,” the latest round drew heavily on the 1984 and 1987 accords.

Among the aspects still pending from the earlier talks is Cuba’s commitment to accept close to 2,500 immigrants categorised by the United States as “unacceptable,” and the agreement to find a “mutually acceptable solution” with respect to radio broadcasts towards Cuba.

“We are still receiving people from that list,” said Alarcon. He termed the transmissions of ‘Radio Marti’, which broadcasts from U.S. territory and encourages unauthorised immigration, “a great paradox.”

The potential broadening of the accords and the satisfaction of both parties over compliance with the two latest pacts seems to have eased tensions in a round that had been announced with serious discontent among Cubans and a U.S. complaint.

The case of two hijackers who were not returned to Cuba in spite of requests by the government of Fidel Castro was resolved this week with a commitment by the administration of Bill Clinton to try them, and a guarantee of Cuban cooperation.

“The most important thing is that the crime not be condoned, nor obligations with the international community infringed,” said Alarcon, who reiterated that in accordance with the existing agreements the hijackers should have been turned over to Cuba.

In his meeting with reporters, Hamilton did not mention a complaint raised by the U.S. delegation during the fifth round of talks in November 1995 regarding what it considered the excessive cost of the fares Cuba charges emigrants.

Alarcon, however, said that was a domestic policy issue that had no connection with the talks. He added that the number of Cubans who have travelled to the United States over the past two years was evidence that the fares did not put a curb on legal emigration.

After the “rafters crisis” — the exodus of some 30,000 Cubans — the United States promised to issue at least 20,000 resident visas a year. Local authorities here say that since the September 1994 accords, roughly 40,000 people have legally emigrated to the United States.