A New Cuba Rafter Crisis in the Making

A New Cuba Rafter Crisis in the Making
November 17, 2014
Jorge Duany* (Café Fuerte)

HAVANA TIMES — It's been 20 years since the Cuban rafters crisis.
Between August and September 13, 1994, the US Coast Guard detained some
30,879 Cubans in the Strait of Florida. The crisis was resolved
(temporarily, at least), when the US and Cuban governments
re-established their migratory accords in September of 1994 and May of
1995. One of the main points of these agreements was that all Cuban
migrants captured in the high seas were to be repatriated.

The number of Cuban rafters, however, has increased substantially over
the past four years. According to the US Coast Guard, the figure of
Cubans detained tripled, from 422 in 2010, to 1,357 in 2013. During the
2014 fiscal year, a total of 2,059 Cubans trying to reach the United
States on rafts were intercepted in the high seas, and everything seems
to indicate the number of Cuban rafters will only increase in coming months.

High Migratory Potential

What is this phenomenon owed to? To begin with, Cuba's migratory
potential is far greater than the 20,000 visas the US government has
been offering Cubans on a yearly basis over the past two decades. An
indication of how widespread the desire to leave Cuba has become can be
found in the number of people who participate in the US visa lottery
program (or bombo, as it is popularly known in Cuba).

According to official US sources, 541,500 Cubans participated in the
last special bombo just for Cubans, in 1998. At the current pace, it
would have taken 27 years to satisfy the demand at the time. Many people
who were unable to obtain visas evidently left the country illegally.

Secondly, we must consider Cuba's persistent economic difficulties.
Despite the economic reforms undertaken by Raul Castro's government,
living conditions continue to be very precarious for the majority of the
island's population. Low salaries, growing unemployment and
underemployment, rising prices and the deterioration of public services
continue to plague the Cuban economy.

The lack of productive employment opportunities has led an entire
generation of young Cubans, raised during the economic crisis that began
in 1989, to seek the realization of their professional and personal
aspirations abroad. Many set off on rafts, small vessels or anything
that floats in the hopes of reaching the Promised Land, the United
States or "la Yuma", as the country is affectionately referred to in Cuba.

Thirdly, current US policy towards Cuban migrants, particularly the
Cuban Adjustment Act, known as the "wet foot / dry foot" law, encourages
illegal immigration from Cuba. This law, approved in 1966, guarantees
that the majority of Cubans who arrive in the United States are legally
admitted into the country and put on a fast track to become permanent
residents. Given the dangers and unpredictability of travelling by sea
to the Strait of Florida, more and more Cubans are opting to travel to
Mexico or Central America in order to cross the US land border.

An Unstoppable Wave of Immigrants

We are witnessing a growing exodus of Cubans who are leaving the country
through means both authorized by the US government and not.

From 1994 to 2013, the largest wave of immigrants since the beginning
of the Cuban revolution was registered (a total of 563,740 Cubans were
legally admitted into the United States). Owing to the stagnation of the
Cuban economy and the lack of significant political reforms, it is
reasonable to assume this trend will continue, and that the number of
Cubans seeking to move to the United States in coming years will in fact
increase.

The accumulation of frustrated attempts at emigrating and the strong
desire for family reunification will likely keep Cuba's migratory rate
high. This situation could lead to a new rafters crisis in the near future.

CUBA'S MIGRATORY STATISTICS

563,740 Cubans were legally admitted into the United States between 1994
and 2013

134,758 arrived in the United States legally between 2005 and 2014

22,567 arrived from neighboring countries to request asylum in the 2014
fiscal year

91,122 of them did so via the Mexican border

2,059 Cubans were intercepted in the Strait of Florida in 2014

815 arrived in south Florida by sea in 2014

(*) Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Cuban
Studies (CRI) of the Florida International University. He is a renowned
expert on US Cuban immigration. This article was first published by El
Nuevo Dia and republished by Café Fuerte with the author's consent.

Source: A New Cuba Rafter Crisis in the Making - Havana Times.org -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=107374