US Shifts Focus on Cuban Immigrants

With everything that is going on at the US Mexico border it is easy to forget that that is not the only immigration issue facing America. Although the influx of children has taken most of the spotlight, there has also been a sharp increase in the number of Cubans immigrants trying to make it to the US.

There is a law in place that says if a Cuban person makes it to American soil, they can stay. If they are captured at sea, they are sent back to Cuba. The recent influx of Cubans has reminded officials of the 1994 rafter crisis, where Cubans would make boats out of just about anything to make the 90 mile journey from Cuba to South Florida. Experts are saying that the increase in attempts to make it to the US could be foreshadowing a much larger migration by Cubans.

Some believe that this influx is the effect of a law that allows Cuban immigrants to live in the US legally if they make it to US soil, others feel that it is the effect of new laws that have been put into place in Cuba that do not benefit the overall population. People have been trying to leave Cuba for years and years, so it is no surprise that people are still attempting the trip, regardless of what is pushing them. One man, Yannio La O, gave this glimpse into how bad things actually are in Cuba, “I would tell anyone in Cuba to come. It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees.”