Cuban Immigration - Essay Example

The United States of America has almost always been the destination of choice for a good number of immigrants, both legal and illegal, for its freedoms and opportunities. But in the case of Cuban immigrants, it has adopted a two-pronged policy known as the Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy, in which there is a distinction between those Cubans who managed to reach American soil and those intercepted while still at sea. This is clearly a compromise or political solution which no longer holds validity in terms of new political developments. Moreover, its justification for using this distinction does not make much sense, on humanitarian grounds.

Any illegal immigrant from Cuba, whether traveling by sea or by land, and has now managed to reach American soil, should be granted asylum, because these people are fleeing from a one-man rule communist dictatorship. There should be no distinction whatsoever, as it betrays America's democratic principles, the very political foundation of the country as it was envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Perhaps a more sensible approach is to exclude Cubans who went to the United States of America purely for economic reasons since they would not qualify for political asylum to be given temporary green cards. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, all Cuban immigrants should be given the benefit of the doubt (Iraola para. 4).

The legal distinction contained in the current policy is mere hair-splitting and does not serve any purpose at all; it is better to grant every Cuban immigrant permanent residency status and the rare chance to live in freedom. These people had gambled everything, even life, and limbs, to reach the United States and it is heartbreaking to turn them back, based on moral and ethical human rights considerations. It is cruel and inhumane to turn them back; it is like bringing an escaped slave back to his master (McGill para. 13). This policy should be ended.