Border to be opened up for Cubans

While House Republicans tour the country hoping to drum up votes in November by advocating the closing the southern border and the repatriation of one group immigrants - the White House announced a plan Friday to help shore up Republican prospects in Florida by opening the border to another group of immigrants.

After 12 years, the government now plans on changing it's policies towards Cuba and easing restrictions on migration from the island nation … hopefully in time to prevent the Governorship and a Congressional seat in the vital swing state from falling into the hands of rival Democrats. The politically powerful Cuban community in South Florida has long lobbied for an easing of restrictions on further emigration.


tags: immigration, Cuba, Wet foot , Castro, hypocrisy


Coming only two weeks after Cuban leader Fidel Castro passed power on to his brother Raul for health reasons, the change of policy will be the first since the 1994 accord between the two nations that limited emigration from the island to the US to 20,000 visas a year.

The policy shift, which is limited to certain groups such as families who have relatives in the United States and Cuban doctors wishing to emigrate, was contained in two separate statements issued in Washington by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Aimed at putting pressure on the Cuban government to officially sanction more migration, the administration hopes the measures will help “promote safe, legal and orderly migration, while they also support the Cuban people in their aspirations for a free and prosperous society,” according a Dept of Homeland Security draft.

Senate Majority leader, Bill Frist said the change of policy would help "create a wave of change for the Cuban people currently living under the yoke of despotism to rise up and demand their freedom … I encourage the administration to continue to show leadership at a time when the Cuban people need it most."

Ironically the day before the policy change was announcement, House Republicans brought their immigration road show to Sen. Frist’s home state of Tennessee to discuss the effects of increased immigration on the US healthcare system and individual American taxpayers.

Apparently the need to stem the flow of immigrants into the country only applies to those coming through the southern border … while those coming through the Florida Straits will be welcomed with open arms by Republicans …. At least in a tight election year anyway.

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Judge rules on Cubans who landed on "wrong" bridge

The story of the 15 Cuban refugees who were deported back in January after they landed on the Old Flagler Bridge in the Florida Keys only to find out that the DHS on longer considered the bridge "dry land" under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, took another turn today when a federal judge ruled that US government had acted unreasonably.

U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno ordered the federal officials to "use their best efforts" to help the Cubans return to the United States.

The judge went on to explain that his ruling was not one on the legality of the policy, but rather specific to this case. "In this holding, the Court is not ruling on the wisdom, or lack of wisdom, of the 'wet foot/dry foot' policy," Moreno wrote in a 12-page ruling.

In this case none of the parties concerned claimed the refugees were stopped at sea, the debate revolved around the status of the dilapidated Flagler Bridge, which according to the government was no longer connected to land due to missing spans.

Although Cuban exile leaders claimed the decision as a victory, it's unclear if the Castro government in Havana has any intention of returning the refugees.

AP
CNN


More on the bridge refugees from Migra Matters:
Wet Foot policy may cost Republicans Florida
Conch Republic seizes Florida bridge
Wet Foot, Dry Foot

Tag: immigration

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Immigration policy may cost Republicans Florida

What started out a few days after the New Year as a routine coast guard intervention off the coast of Florida may turn out to be the Republican's Achilles heel in the heavily contested Sunshine State. The exile Cuban community, who have long been solid GOP supporters, are starting to look at other alternatives in light of the administration's recent tough stance on immigration. The deportation of 15 Cuban refugees plucked off the Flagler Bridge in the Florida Keys in January is just the latest in a long series of events that have exiles concerned that the current immigration policies of the Administration coupled with the increasing rhetoric to "closed the borders" coming from certain elements within the party have left them no choice but to rethink their positions.

It all started in the early morning darkness of Jan. 5, when at 4a.m. the ramshackle boat containing 15 Cuban refuges began to sink just feet from the dilapidated remains of the Old Seven Mile Bridge that used to link the mainland to the Keys. Clamoring onto the bridge abutment, the refugees began making frantic calls to friends and relatives in Miami to come rescue them, believing they had set foot on US soil and safely made it to their destination. According to the current "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cuban refugees who manages to reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in the country, while those caught at sea are sent back.

But before relatives could arrive, a Coast Guard cutter showed up and began processing the refugees for deportation. Apparently, the old bridge, which runs parallel to its current replacement, had fallen into disrepair over the years and due to missing spans, is no longer is considered “connect to land” according to Coast Guard Officials. This is despite the fact that bridges, piers, abutments and rock outcroppings are considered land under current rules.

``The `bridge' is kind of a misnomer,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Commander Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the department's Southeast region. He said officials in Washington determined the Cubans should be considered ``feet wet,'' because they were not able to walk to land from where they landed.

In any other place, the incident might have gone down as just another example of how the Bush administration has gotten tough on immigration. But not here in Miami, home to the million-strong and politically potent Cuban exile community, where many people say the "wet foot, dry foot" rule is ambiguous and unfairly applied. Outraged, South Florida's Cubans are directing their anger squarely at President Bush, who carried Florida largely on the strength of their vote in the last two presidential elections.

At least one influential Cuban, Pepe Hernandez, president of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), said it might be time for the Cubans to do the unthinkable -- reconsider their unwavering loyalty to Republican candidates.

"This community must face the realization that politicians, especially national politicians, come here to Miami when they need our votes and forget their promises," he said. "President Bush came here and said he would review this policy, and nothing has happened. Cuban voters will be looking into this reality a little bit when they cast their votes."

Washington Post

more below the fold
Tag: immigration

This incident comes on the heels of controversial policy changes in Dec. 2003 and June 2004 that put new travel restrictions on exiles wishing to visit Cuba. The new restrictions:

*limited Cuban-Americans to family visits only every three years (no humanitarian or emergency exceptions);
*redefined "family" to include only immediate members;
*eliminated the "fully-hosted" category of legal travel entirely;
*restricted travel for education to semester-long for-credit full-time college or graduate students

Cuba Solidarity

Exile leaders also complain that the Coast Guard has gotten more aggressive in policing the border. "Cubans have watched in horror as Coast Guard workers tackled Cubans like linebackers when they leapt from boats and made a dash from surf to sand.

Cubans have also been shocked by television footage of Coast Guard cutters bumping rickety handmade craft as refugees wafted toward land, sometimes causing people to tumble out of boats and drown."

As the exile community reassesses its place in the Republican Party, Florida's Republican leadership has been scrambling to shore up support. Gov. Jeb Bush along with Sen. Mel Martinez put in calls to the White House on behalf of the 15 bridge deportees, while South Florida's Cuban- American U.S. House members launched a lobbying campaign to convince the Bush administration to change the controversial ''wet-foot, dry-foot'' policy.

But the Florida Republicans will come up against some resistance from within their own party as the immigration issue begins to move closer to the center of political debate. Next month, the Senate is expected to start debate on various immigration bills, including the anti-immigrant - HR 4437, the Kennedy/McCain bill, John Cornyn's bill and quite a few others. Many Republicans are lobbying for legislation that will have much stricter restrictions on immigration and harsher penalties for undocumented immigrants.

In this climate, and given the Presidents reluctance to address the issue beyond his calls for guest workers, it might be impossible for the Republicans to reach any sort of compromise that would alleviate the concerns of Florida's Cuban community. If that is the case, the state that was already the most electoraly volatile in the nation may become out of reach for future republican candidates.

( authors note: The newest WaPo article reports the incident at the bridge as taking place on Dec. 26. All other reports, including those coming out of Havana have the refugees leaving Cuba on 1-2, and arriving at the bridge in the early morning hours of Thurs 1-5. The final deportation was on 1-9. I have contacted WaPO to see if they can confirm the 12-26 date, If they are in fact correct it would mean that the refugees were held in custody for fourteen days before deportation. That would change the story considerably… as it would mean that there was more than enough time for the Administration to intercede on the refugee's behalf if they wanted to. I will update accordingly)

Addition references:
Miami herald 1-9-06
Guardian 1-11-06
Miami Herald 1-10-06
Cuban American National Foundation
Miami Herald 2-07-06
San Diego Union Tribune 12-18-05

Other stories from Migra Matters on the bridge refugees:
here
here

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Conch Republic "forces" seize Florida bridge

In a bit of “theater of the absurd” that could only be accomplished by the colorfully off-beat residents of the Florida Keys, the government of the faux “Conch Republic” has laid claim to the remnants of the Old Seven Mile Bridge that has been at the center of a recent immigration controversy.

The controversy revolves around the deportation of 15 Cuban refugees who landed at the bridge, only to find that the government did not believe it met the requirements necessary to be considered US “land” under the “wet foot-dry foot” policy. According to current rules, Cuban refugee who manages to reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in the country, while those caught at sea are sent back.

The dilapidated, old bridge, which runs parallel to its current replacement, had fallen into disrepair over the years and due to missing spans, no longer is officially considered “connect to land” according to Coast Guard Officials. Since the 15 Cubans had no way to “walk to land” from where they landed they were considered “wet” under current immigration rules.

In an effort to highlight the twisted logic of the decision, the government of the Conch Republic has weighed in:

(more below the fold)
tag: immigration

Faux force 'seizes' disconnected span
Key West Citizen

MARATHON — For the second time in its 24-year history, the Conch Republic has claimed a piece of sovereign territory for its very own.

On Friday, heavily supported by cans of caffeine-free Diet Coke, bottled water and loaves of Cuban bread, top officials of the Florida Keys' own whimsical republic planted two flags on a section of the Old Seven Mile Bridge, claiming the structure for the "independent islands of the Florida Keys."

The Conch Republic Navy — two fishing boats — left the 7-Mile Marina in Marathon at 1 p.m. as "I Got You Babe" pulsed from a dockside stereo, and chugged 15 minutes away to a concrete support piling on the Old Seven Mile Bridge, a now-deteriorating span that once was part of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway.

Posing over the golden glint of sun on ocean, Peter Anderson, the self-proclaimed secretary general of the pretend republic, stood between two flapping flags, blew the official conch shell horn and brandished the sword of state — a loaf of Cuban bread speared on a rapier.

But for all the tongue-in-cheekiness of the event, there also was a political protest underlying the expedition.

Anderson and cohorts planted their Conch Republic flags on the specific piling where 15 Cubans landed after fleeing Matanzas Province in Cuba on the night of Jan. 2. That portion of the bridge is no longer connected to shore, and under U.S. dry foot/wet foot immigration policy, which usually allows refugees to stay in country if they reach dry land, the isolated section of the bridge was deemed "at sea."

As a result, the Cubans were deported Jan. 9, to the outrage of Anderson and his Conch Republic cabinet.

But he reckoned that the bridge, no longer claimed by the federal government, was now open to occupation by the Conch Republic. So the amphibious assault was conceived, and letters were sent to state and federal officials, as well the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, explaining the republic's intentions

The action is a milestone in Conch Republic history because, according to Anderson, Keys residents have always lived as dual citizens — half-Conch, half-Yankee — since the republic's inception in 1982. Claiming the Old Seven Mile Bridge as its own means the Conch Republic now has territory it shares with no other nation.

Or, as Anderson put it, "This is now our sovereign territory in 20 feet in either direction!"

The Conch Republic was established by mock secession from the United States on April 23, 1982, in response to a U.S. Border Patrol blockade set up on U.S. 1 at Florida City to intercept illegal immigrants and drugs. In effect, the blockade required Keys residents and visitors to prove they were U.S. citizens when they drove onto the mainland.

Dennis Wardlow, mayor of Key West at the time, and other Keys officials sought an injunction at the federal courthouse in Miami to stop the blockade, but failed. The next day, the Keys symbolically seceded from the United States in a ceremony in Mallory Square, ceremoniously breaking a loaf of stale Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a U.S. Navy uniform.

After one minute of separation, Wardlow surrendered to the Navy, demanding $1 billion in foreign aid and war relief. The blockade eventually was halted.

Photo by: ADAM KARLIN/The Citizen
Peter Anderson, secretary general of the Conch Republic, raises the sword of stale Cuban bread and blows a conch shell to symbolize the republic's seizure of a portion of the Old Seven Mile Bridge off Marathon Friday. The property was the focus of national news this week when 15 Cuban migrants who landed at the old bridge were returned to Cuba, after federal authorities ruled they had not reached U.S. soil.

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Your foot, My foot…Wet foot, Dry foot

As if US immigration policy and the debate about it hadn't been bordering on the ridiculous already, now comes this story from Florida:

15 Cubans who reached Old Seven Mile Bridge sent home

Sun-Sentinel

MIAMI -- Fifteen Cubans who fled their homeland and landed on an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys were returned to Cuba Monday after U.S. officials concluded that the
piling did not constitute dry land, authorities said.

Under the U.S. government's ``wet-foot, dry-foot'' policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in the country, while those caught at sea are sent back
-snip-

The historic Old Seven Mile Bridge, which runs side by side with a newer bridge, is missing several chunks, and the Cubans had the misfortune of reaching pilings from a section that no longer touches land.

The federal government said that means the group never actually reached U.S. territory and could be sent home.

``The `bridge' is kind of a misnomer,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Commander Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the department's Southeast region. He said officials in Washington determined the Cubans should be considered ``feet wet,'' because they were not able to walk to land from where they landed.

Is it just me, or has the immigration debate begun to look like some childish game played by schoolyard bullies. In Congress the Republicans have pushed for the building a giant wall across the southern border, and not just any wall, but a super-duper special wall that immigrants couldn't climb over. They support armed citizens playing "cowboys and Indians" chasing immigrants through the desert in SUVs , wearing night-vision goggles. Now in Florida the coast guard plays a game of tag with immigrants, who race as fast as they can to touch "home base" before being tagged out and sent home. Perhaps the DHS should come up with a better game, maybe a variation on Duck, Duck, Goose, or better yet dodgeball.

Since the Republicans have decided to act like spoiled, childish bullies, I figured we should look at the issue in a way they might understand. In the words of…….Dr. Seuss:

(more below the fold)
tag: immigration



Your foot, My foot…Wet foot, Dry foot


There were two Reps, Rep Two, Rep One.
Both Reps did not like anyone.
They did not like ones not from here,
For they were Strange and caused them fear.

"There must be something we can do"
Rep One said to his friend Rep Two.

Rep One who came from lands of cheese,
Had rarely seen ones Strange like these.
They uttered words, odd from their mouth,
He thought they must be from the south.

Rep Two who hailed from warmer climes,
Said he had heard it many times.
He said there could be no mistake,
"They must be here for jobs to take."

"I do not want them small or tall,
I do not want them in my mall"
Rep One did not want them at all.
So his idea---- He'd build a wall.

Rep Two thought this was very good.
"Let's build a wall, we should, we could."
We'll build it wide, we'll build it strong,
I know it can't take very long.
And in good time, we'll build it tall,
So if they climb, they're bound to fall."

To keep out those who were so Strange,
The laws, they needed to be changed.
Rep One, Rep Two went to the Hill,
With all their friends to craft a bill.

After some time, the work was done,
They showed the bill to everyone.
And all the other Reps agreed,
The wall is something that they need.


With monies taxed on monies made,
The cost to build the wall was paid.
And all the Reps began to cheer,
“We'll keep the Strangers out of here.”
“The ones so strange, those not like us,
We'll keep them out, we must, we must.”


There was another Rep, named Three,
He came from lands called Diz in Nee.
A land where everyone was free,
Though many were called refugee.

One day some Strangers got a boat,
And on the ocean they did float.
Hoping to come upon some land,
That they could touch with just one hand.
But a hand could be a foot,
If on dry land that foot was put.

A law was written long before,
For those escaping from a war,
That if their foot was on dry land,
From this place they can't be band.
And though they spoke with words quite strange,
These Strangers though, could now remain.

Rep Three had always liked that law,
He used it many times before.
The Strangers would get off their boat,
And for Rep Three they'd give their vote.

The boat did float, days three, days four,
Until a bridge the Strangers saw.
"Get to that bridge, get to it fast,
Get to that bridge, touch land at last."

The Strangers rowed, fast as they could,
For it was known, was understood
To touch a bridge that touched the land,
Was equal to feet placed on sand.

If on the sand, you placed your feet,
Your journey then would be complete.
No one could ever kick you out,
Though some might scream, or pout, or shout.
There would be nothing they could do,
Those like Rep One, those like Rep Two.

But something strange happened that day,
The Strangers came but could not stay.
It seems the bridge the Strangers touched,
Did not connect to very much.
For it was old, parts fallen down,
No longer did it touch the ground.
So by the law from long ago,
This meant the Strangers had to go.

Rep Three cried out, this is not fair.
To kick them out, you would not dare.
They touched the home, they touched the base,
To change the base that's a disgrace.
That is no way to play the game,
Tag played that way would be a shame.

Rep Three cried out, "Rep One, Rep Two,
There must be something you can do."
"We're sorry friend" said Two and One,
"Two thousand six has just begun."
"And on one thing we all agree,
We must have a new enemy.
For if we don’t, we'll lose our seats,
The party doomed to sure defeat."

So Three and Two and One did sit
To ponder their constituents
But this was nothing they could fix
Before the fall, two thousand six

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