Panama offers stranded Cuban migrants multiple entry visas if they return to island

Panama offers stranded Cuban migrants multiple entry visas if they
return to island
BY MARIO J. PENTÓN
mpenton@elnuevoherald.com

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
The Panamanian government has a proposal for a group of Cubans stranded
in that country: return voluntarily to the island, become self-employed
entreprenuers known as cuentapropistas and, in exchange, obtain multiple
entry visas and even start-up capital — still to be determined — for
investment purposes.

The proposal — which would apply only to the 126 migrants who are in a
temporary shelter in Gualaca in western Panama — was revealed by
Panama's Deputy Minister of Public Security Jonathan del Rosario, who
said that his country has done "everything possible" to help the
undocumented migrants.

The official made clear that there is no possibility that the 126 Cubans
in the Gualaca camp or the other dozens of Cuban migrants stranded in
Panama following the end of the U.S. Cuban immigration policy — known as
"wet foot, dry foot" — can stay in Panamanian territory.

The Cuban migrants were en route to the U.S.-Mexico border when former
President Barack Obama on Jan. 14 put an end to the policy, which
allowed most Cubans who made it to American soil to stay.

"We have been very frank. Their entry into the country in an irregular
manner makes it impossible for them to qualify for any type of
immigration status in Panama other than refugee status," del Rosario
said, adding that what the Panamanian government is offering is not a
bad choice.

"We are doing the budget consultations and, of course, we have not done
it behind the backs of the government of Cuba," he said. "We did not
take them to Gualaca to deceive them. The range of options we have is
not very wide and the countries we have consulted are not welcoming
migrants."

Del Rosario said that since the migration crisis in the region began
last year, Panama's government has carried out a "Controlled Flow"
operation to ensure that undocumented migrants entering Panamanian
territory "are properly controlled and enjoy their fundamental rights."

According to data released by the General Directorate of Migration in
that country, more than 39,000 undocumented Cubans have been living in
Panama for the last five years.

Last April, the Panamanian government decided to close a temporary
shelter in the capital run by Caritas, a Catholic Church organization.
Relocation from Panama City to Gualaca in the western province of
Chiriquí was accepted by 126 of the more than 300 migrants who were
staying at the shelter.

The proposal for the migrants to return home and become cuentapropistas,
unveiled at a recent meeting with migrants in Gualaca, remains on the
table and is apparently one of the few solutions left to a government
team that committed to resolve the Cuban migrant issue within 90 days.

Under the proposal, Panama would grant a multiple-entry visa to the
future entrepreneurs so they could purchase products from Panamanian
markets needed for their businesses. It is not a crazy proposition,
considering that so far this year about 11,900 Cubans have entered the
country with stamped visas that allows for multiple entries for tourism
and business purposes.

The offer is limited to the 126 migrants in Gualaca and not those who
refused to go to the shelter, designated by the government as a
temporary refuge, who will be deported if arrested by the immigration
authorities.

"If not Donald Trump, we hope that the Cuban community in Miami will
flex its muscle, that someone will help us because none of us left Cuba
to stay in Panama or be relocated in Australia," said Yelisvaris Pargas,
one of the Cubans in the Gualaca shelter. "Our goal is to reach the
United States."

Pargas, who is not opposed to returning to the island, said there is
hope among some Cuban migrants that the deputy minister's proposal is
implemented.

Others, however, are opposed to the measure.

"All the shops in Cuba belong to the government," blurted one of the
migrants.

"Those visas that are being proposed are of no use to us because
everything is illegal in Cuba," said another of the migrants gathered in
a humid hallway at the shelter.

Yosvani López, a young man from Caibarién in the Villa Clara province in
central Cuba, said the option of a multiple visa would be the best if
there were no other alternative.

"Clearly, we do not want to return," he said. "But if the choice is
between doing it obligatorily or with the option of leaving a door open
to return, I will stay with the second one."

Ivo Torres said Cubans do not migrate because of economic problems, but
rather because they are "seeking freedom" and "want to become someone in
life."

"The Cuban government does not value private initiatives because it
wants the population to be dependent on them," said Torres, who also
questioned whether Raúl Castro would allow them to become self-employed.

Panama's vice minister, meanwhile, said most of the Cuban migrants at
the shelter would not be able to prove fear of persecution if returned
to the island and cited economic woes as the primary reason for having
fled, which means they would not be eligible for refugee status.

"A refugee usually seeks refuge in the first country to which he
arrives. And since they have been through various countries before
getting to Panama, the window for refugee status generally closes," del
Rosario said. "It's not impossible but...that alternative is rarely viable.

"Panama's position on irregular migration has always been to apply
strict control measures," he said. "Before the end of the wet foot, dry
foot policy, if there were no outstanding warrants, migrants were simply
given an order to leave the country and were allowed to continue their
transit across the continent."

Del Rosario also denied that the Cuban migrants are prohibited from
leaving the provisional shelter, essentially serving as a detention
center: "Gualaca is not a hotel or a guesthouse. The idea is not to
deprive them of their rights, but they must have patience."

The migrants can only leave the camp accompanied by an escort once a
week to collect money transfers at a nearby Western Union and to make
purchases.

"We are inviting them to embrace the option of self-employment because
it will guarantee them access to Panama and economic support," del
Rosario said.

Following the change of immigration policy in the United States, Panama
airlifted some Cuban migrants to the United States but that, too, was
brought to a halt. So Panama reached an accord with Cuba, signed in
early March, and more than 90 migrants have since been deported.

As a result of intermediation from the Catholic Church, the Panamanian
government has agreed to try to resolve the Cuban migrant issue beyond
detention. However, they have made it clear that the current situation
will not be maintained forever.

"Just as with Cuba there are other countries in the region that threaten
to overflow in a migratory crisis and we are only four million
inhabitants," del Rosario said. "We can not welcome everyone."

FOLLOW MARIO J. PENTÓN ON TWITTER: @MARIOJOSE_CUBA

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Source: Panama to Cuban migrants: go home and get multiple entry visas |
Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article156541024.html