USA AND CUBA DISCUSSING SAFE LEGAL AND ORDERLY MIGRATION TO EACH OTHER COUNTRIES AS USA ISSUES AT LEAST 22000 IMMIGRATION VISAS ANNUALLY TO CUBAN WITH 24727 ISSUED IN 2013 AND 29927 VISITORS VISAS DURING SAME PERIOD 11TH JANUARY 2014 Currently, the U.S. issues at least 20,000 immigration visas annually to Cubans coming into the country. During 2013, the government issued 24,727 immigrant visas and 29,927 visitor visas, which is more than double the number it issued in 2012. The current policy is to accept Cubans who reach U.S. shores by boat, a policy that Cuban governmental officials have criticized as encouraging illegal immigration. Historically, this has been a major issue of contention between the two countries. The colloquially named “wet foot, dry foot” policy, however, dictates that potential immigrants picked up at sea be turned back to Cuba. The Obama administration has stated that though they hope for productive migration talks, there are no plans to change that policy. Rather, the diplomatic talks are meant to pick up the agreed upon meetings to review “safe, legal, and orderly” migration from one country to the other, according to the Miami Herald. Recent Changes in Relations with Cuba Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba over the last decade have been fitful at best. In 2003, the Bush administration suspended the biannual migration talks; it took until July of 2009 for the talks to resume, though the past few years haven’t seen any substantial changes in immigration policies on either side. From 2009 to 2011, however, regulations loosened on travel from the U.S. to Cuba, signaling a potential desire on the part of the Obama administration to repair diplomatic ties. Cuba also recently loosened its travel restrictions, which spurred its citizens to make some 250,000 trips abroad, according to Yahoo News. This comes as a positive sign for the large community of Cuban exiles living in the U.S., who are often disconnected from family in their native country. Over the past year, there have additional signs of positive forward movement. U.S. and Cuban officials have met multiple times, according to The Guardian, to discuss direct mail services and emergency coordination between the nations. The U.S. state department noted that the talks in September of 2013, on mail issues, were “fruitful,” though no deal has been struck. The migration talks this week may also touch on postal delivery.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 05:11:00 +0000
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