Cuban migrant crisis in Central America escalates

Cuban migrant crisis in Central America escalates

Nicaragua has blocked some 2,000 Cubans from entering its territory
The Cubans' goal is to reach the United States
Cuba blames the Cuban Adjustment Act for the exodus
BY JIM WYSS AND MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@miamiherald.com

LA CRUZ, COSTA RICA
As some 2,000 Cubans thwarted by Nicaragua in their journey north to the
United States milled around the Costa Rican border Wednesday and
tensions simmered between the two Central American nations, Cuba's
Foreign Ministry called them victims of a politicized U.S. immigration
policy that gives them priority over all other nationalities who want to
come to the United States.

"This policy stimulates irregular emigration from Cuba to the United
States and is a violation of the letter and spirit of the migratory
agreements in effect [between the United States and Cuba] in which both
countries have taken on the obligation of guaranteeing legal, secure and
orderly migration," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

THIS POLICY STIMULATES IRREGULAR EMIGRATION FROM CUBA TO THE UNITED
STATES AND IS A VIOLATION OF THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE MIGRATORY
AGREEMENTS IN EFFECT [BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA] IN WHICH BOTH
COUNTRIES HAVE TAKEN ON THE OBLIGATION OF GUARANTEEING LEGAL, SECURE AND
ORDERLY MIGRATION
Cuban Foreign Ministry
The Cuban government said it was in constant contact with the countries
affected by the exodus, trying to find a "rapid and adequate" solution
to the brewing crisis that "takes into consideration the well-being of
the Cuban citizens."

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez has called for an urgent
meeting of foreign ministers from Ecuador to Mexico whose territories
have become the route north for the Cubans. He proposed a "humanitarian
corridor" that would prevent them from falling victim to people smugglers.

"We are concerned about the treatment of Cubans in Costa Rica and are in
contact with that nation's officials to ensure they are being treated in
accordance with international agreements," South Florida Republican Rep.
Carlos Curbelo said. He attributed the situation to mounting desperation
in Cuba in the wake of the rapprochement between the United States and
Cuba jointly announced last December by President Barack Obama and Cuban
leader Raúl Castro.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that it was aware of the
situation and was encouraging "all countries to respect the human rights
of migrants and to ensure humane treatment of individuals seeking asylum
or other forms of protection in accordance with international law and
their own national laws."

But it also noted that if migrants don't have valid asylum claims or a
legal basis to remain in a country, "we recognize that governments have
the sovereign right to return them to their home countries. Any and all
returns should be carried out safely, and with dignity."

In recent months, the number of Cubans making their way north from South
America to Panama and through Central America before finally arriving at
their goal, the Mexican border with the United States, and often
ultimately coming to South Florida, has accelerated. On Sunday,
Nicaragua, an ally of Cuba's, closed its border with Costa Rica in an
effort to stop them.

More than 45,000 Cubans arrived at U.S. checkpoints along the Mexican
border and presented themselves for admission to the United States in
the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Many Cubans also are risking their
lives in the Straits of Florida in an attempt to enter the United
States. In the eight months from May through October, the U.S. Coast
Guard picked up 1,604 Cubans at sea compared to 2,111 for the full year
of fiscal 2014.

La Cruz, a Costa Rican town of about 20,000 that lies 12 miles south of
the main border crossing with Nicaragua at Peñas Blancas, has become one
of the major reception points for the Cubans. The Red Cross says it´s
taking care of about 1,800 in five temporary shelters and that there are
at least 200 more Cubans holed up in hotels or who are sleeping outside
at the border crossing.

Donations coming in from around the country were helping provide the
Cubans with three meals a day and some were also being put up at local
churches and schools.

Peñas Blancas​ had the feel of an urban encampment Wednesday. Outside of
the Costa Rican immigration check-point, entire families sprawled on
sleeping bags on the concrete or hung up clothes to dry from a
chain-link fence. Authorities had set up a battery of portable toilets
but there was only limited shelter.

Some people said they were refusing to retreat to the relative comfort
of the temporary shelters because they wanted to keep up pressure on
Nicaragua and the rest of Central America to let them continue their
journey to the United States.

Darien Pavia, 32, said he was worried — after more than 1,000 Cubans
stormed through the border crossing on Sunday and were forced to retreat
by Nicaraguan riot police and the army — that Costa Rica's northern
neighbor would never let them continue their trip to the United States.

"We're all very worried here," Pavia​ said. "I don't think Nicaragua is
ever going to let us through."

​Several said that this fresh wave of migrants is being fueled by
growing rumors in Cuba that the U.S. Cuban Adjustment Act will be ending
in the new year.

In August when the United States had an official flag-raising ceremony
at its reopened embassy in Havana, Secretary of State John Kerry said,
"We currently have no plans whatsoever to alter the current migration
policy, including the Cuban Adjustment Act, and we have no plans to
change the wet foot/dry foot policy."

On Wednesday, the State Department reiterated that position: "The U.S.
has no plans to change its immigration policies with regard to Cuba."

WE CURRENTLY HAVE NO PLANS WHATSOEVER TO ALTER THE CURRENT MIGRATION
POLICY, INCLUDING THE CUBAN ADJUSTMENT ACT, AND WE HAVE NO PLANS TO
CHANGE THE WET FOOT/DRY FOOT POLICY
Secretary of State John Kerry during the reopening of the U.S. Embassy
in Havana

The Cuban Adjustment Act allows Cubans who arrive in the United States
without a visa to have their status adjusted after a year and a day so
they can stay in the United States and receive a green card and other
benefits. Under the wet foot/dry foot doctrine, Cubans who set foot on
U.S. soil are allowed to stay but those who are intercepted at sea are
generally returned to Cuba.

Cuba's Foreign Ministry complained that the U.S. migration policies were
"incongruous" with the new relationship between the United States and
Cuba and could "put up obstacles in the normalization of migratory
relations between Cuba and the United States and create problems for
other countries."

"I'd like to highlight that the United States and Cuban governments have
begun a process of constructive engagement that is a long-term process.
The situation in Cuba will not change overnight," said a State
Department spokesperson.

The Cuban government said the Cuban Adjustment Act and the wet foot/dry
foot policy gives Cubans a "differentiated and unique" treatment that
allows them immediate and automatic entry into the United States without
any consideration of whether they arrived in U.S. territory legally.

The Cuban government said that its citizens who have left Cuba were
legally headed for various Latin American countries, but in their quest
to reach the United States, they have "fallen victim to people
traffickers and delinquent bands that have unscrupulously enriched
themselves by controlling their passage through South America, Central
America and Mexico."

The migratory crisis in Central America could get worse before it gets
better. The Red Cross says that some 200 to 300 more Cubans are arriving
in Costa Rica every day.

Wyss reported from Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Whitefield reported from Miami.

Source: Cuban migrant crisis in Central America escalates | Miami Herald
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