Cuban Migration to the United States - Research Paper Example

Cuban Migration to the United States Executive Summary Cuba has a long history of migration that dates back in 1800s. Cuban immigrants went through a lot of hardships just to be able to ensure a good life for themselves and for their families abroad. Each era of immigration demonstrated different situations, but I preferred to center my discussion in the 1980s, the Mariel era. I find this era very interesting, as it portrayed all the difficulties the people suffered on the sudden change of cultures, convictions and political stability. The facts and figures I used in this paper are all secondary sources, borrowed from the written studies and articles of established authors from the internet. Initially, I wanted to know why the Cubans sought to leave their country, knowing that before, it was a land of prosperity. As I went through with my investigation, Cubans left because they do not want to give up their freedom, nor to exchange their political convictions to become a socialist. As the political change brought decline to the economy, suppression, and limitation of rights, the more people wanted to leave, even to the extent of risking their lives in the Mariel Boatlift. The Mariel Boatlift – a Case in Cuban Migration 1. Introduction Many people across the globe choose to immigrate for several reasons. Today, as a consequence of globalization, migration is almost a natural thing to do because of big prospects and easy access of entrance and exits. Migrants are drawn in because of job opportunities and lifestyles. Migration as defined by National Geographic is “the movement of people from one place in the world to another, for the purpose of taking up a semi-permanent or permanent residence , usually within a political boundary. Cuba is one of the countries in the world that witnessed waves of immigration. Because of the proximity of the U.S. to Cuba, and its welcoming hands, Cubans chose to immigrate to the United States. Cubans , according to history love their country, and has a nationalistic citizenry, so there must be compelling reasons that they left their country. Were they forced or did they volunteer to leave their country? Why were they so desperate in leaving their country? Although there are many years of Cuban migrations before 1980s, I will confound my topic only to Mariel boatlift and its surrounding circumstances. Facts, figures and other details are secondary sources gathered from published works of several authors. 2.0 Trends of Migration Cuban immigration started as early as 1869 wherein there were only 3,090 immigrants who went to United States. (see Table 1.) From the period 1959 through 1978, the number of immigrants grows, such that net loss to migration is -578,742. At the same time, U.S. figures for the same period recorded a total of 669,151 Cubans arrival in the United States. (encyclopedia.com 2007) Table 1. Number of Cuban immigrants to U.S. Years Number 1869 -1870 3 090 1871-1880 8 221 1881-1890 21 528 1891-1900 25 553 1901-1910 44 211 1911-1920 25 158 1921-1930 15 901 1931-1940 9 571 1941-1950 26 313 1951-1960 78 948 1961-1970 208 536 1971-1980 264 863 1981-1990 144 578 1991-1996 94 936 Total 971 407 Source:U.S. Department of Justice, 1996, Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; Pérez, « Cuban Catholics in the United States »Cited in Jorge Duanny, 1999 Cuban emigrants during the early period were for the most part composed of the upper and middle class but the 1970s emigrants were composed of the urban blue-collar workers, less wealthy and less educated. In late 70s, the flow of immigrants grew smaller, but beginning 1980 the number of immigrants swelled because of the announcements that Cubans were allowed to leave from Mariel port. This period was in April 1980 and lasted up to September same year. When the port was closed, some 125,000 Cubans who took small boats called the flotillas arrived in the United States. Out of this number, 2,746 were reported to be undesirable aliens since they were held as prisoners or mental patients. According to the agreement that has been reached between Cuba and the United States, the undesirable immigrants were to be returned to Cuba. The repatriation began in February 1985, but on May of the same year, Fidel Castro suspended the agreement. (encyclopedia.com 2007) We will see from Tables I and 2 that the large scale exodus of migrants was caused by political upheavals and domestic problems. The years in transition showed the phases of political crises that prompted many to seek asylum elsewhere to escape from domestic problems. Table 1 exhibits the number of Cubans admitted to the U.S. per era. The period from 1971-1980 showed having the highest number of exodus of immigrants. Table 2. Stages in Cuban migration to the United States since the Cuban revolution Phase Dates Landmark events Estimated number of immigrants Golden Exile January 1959- October 1962 From the triumph of the Revolution to the Missile Crisis 250 000 (22,9% of the total) Suspension of regular migration November 1962-November 1965 From the end of the Missile Crisis to the opening of Camarioca port 74 000 (6,8 %) Freedom Flights December 1965- April 1973 From the closing of Camarioca to the end of the airbridge 300 000 (27,6 %) Arrivals through other countries May 1973- March 1980 From the end of the airbridge to the opening of Mariel harbor 38 000 (3,5 %) Mariel exodus April-September 1980 From the opening to the closing of Mariel 125 000 (11,5 %) Renewal of regular migration October 1980- December 1991 From the end of Mariel to the reduction of visas 154 000 (14,2 %) Increase in undocumented migration January 1992- July 1994 From the reduction of visas to the balsero crisis 51 000 (4,7 %) Balsero crisis August- September 1994 From the lifting of Cuban restrictions to migrate to the U.S.-Cuban agreements 36 000 (3,3 %) Renewal of regular migration October 1994- December 1996 From the U.S.-Cuban agreements to the present 60 000 (5,5 %) Source: Jorge Duanny 1999 In 2004, total number of asylums to the United States grew smaller totaling to 11,821. Net migration rate was -1.58 per 1000 population. The government sees this as a satisfactory rate considering that previous rates are comparably higher. In 2013, net immigration rate was -2.5/1000 population. In 2014, CIA World facts showed Cuba’s net migration rate as -3.64/1000 population. Total population as of 2014 is 11,047,251. Net migration rate means the difference of immigrants and emigrants in an area in a period of time usually per l,000 inhabitants. A positive value means more people are entering the country and a negative value means more people are leaving than entering it (web definition). Data from World Bank shows the net migration of Cuba from period 1980 to 2014 Table3. Net migration YEAR Net migration 1980-1984 -256,502 1985-1989 -66,501 1990-1994 -114,004 1995-1999 -155,801 2000-2004 -142,000 2005-2009 -190,123 2010-2014 -140,000 Source: The World Bank, 2015 2.0 The Mariel Boatlift The Mariel boatlift is a term used to describe the population transfer of Cuban migrants to the United States done at the Mariel port. Fidel Castro, with his pronouncements, allowed immigrants to the boatlift in Mariel port as long as they have relatives in the U.S. The Cuban exodus to U.S. during the period between April to September 1980, according to Duanney, Jorge, was initially prompted by invitations of their Cuban relatives in the USA. telling them of their good life in America. But the immediate cause, accordingly, was due to tension. Pressure arose on April 1st when six Cubans arriving thru a bus crashed thru the fence of the Peruvian embassy seeking political asylum. During the incident, policeman guarding the compound was killed. As retaliation, Fidel Castro removed the remaining guards. Two days after, over 10,000 Cubans gathered at the unprotected embassy hoping to enter. Two weeks after, Fidel Castro announced that Port Mariel would be open to anyone wanting to leave as long as there is someone who would pick them up. Thus, a new exodus of Cubans began on April 23. Cubans now residing in the United States took the opportunity immediately, hired shrimp and small pleasure boats to pick up their relatives, thus resorting to chain immigration. Chain migration is a system of migration wherein one member of the family sponsors another member of the family and bring him/her to a new location. Chain migration results to a cluster migration wherein people come together to a specific region to settle. Cuban migration resulted to cluster migration as most of them settled in an area Miami called Little Havana, named after Cuba’s capital Immediately after the announcements, 125,000 Cuban refugees arrived at Florida the next day. (Chapman, Linda, 2011). Initially, there was no quota arrangement, but by June 20, President Carter changed policy and established a quota regulation. In concurrence with Carter’s policy to establish an orderly system for Cubans leaving the island, boatlifts were no longer allowed. Heavy fines and penalties were imposed to boats found illegally transporting refugees. Similarly, on May 14 coast Guards were ordered to patrol the area to put a stop to additional boats heading the area. This order put a stop to illegal boat lifting. The arrival of refugees coming not only from Cuba, but from other regions, such as Haitians, and Indo-Chinese to the shores of the United States especially at the times of economic recession has caused many Americans to re-evaluate its policy of being a sanctuary to refugees (Castellano. Sylvia, 1980) . The Mariel Boatlift was one of the ways wherein Cubans used to exit from Cuba. Although it was an illegal way at that time, many Cubans still tried their luck to leave the country. Using improvised boats a great number of Cubans crossed the sea in order to get to the borders of Florida. The Marielitos were the third wave of immigrants who were composed of the working class and the minority group from Cuba. This group of immigrants was snubbed by the U.S. media saying they were undesirables. The Mariel boatlift was not a very easy way of exit because once the Coast Guard caught these people, they are returned to Cuba. Prior to the lifting of this ban, Cuban refugees sailed, docked their boats ashore, then swam to reach the beach. If they were not caught by the U.S. Coast Guards, they were free and were welcomed to the U.S. The U.S. Coast Guards, on record caught 1,275 Cubans trying to arrive by boat, while there were unaccounted Cuban immigrants who reached the Florida shoreline where they were accepted. At the height of immigration in 1980s, Fidel Castro figured out a popular transfer of migration. Fidel Castro sent to the United States thru boats, mental patients from institutions and prisoners to get rid of them in the Cuban society. Since this came as a big news, many Cubans felt persecuted as a consequence and fear was only abated when these undesirable aliens were repatriated to Cuba. Popular transfer is a government’s way of easing out undesirables due to ethnicity, religion, or discrimination. Expulsions of people are resorted to by governments in order to avoid further conflicts that might resort to war. Population transfer is said to be an effective technique to resolve tensions. 2.1 Push and pull factors Pull factors that attracted immigrants to the U.S. People are the desire to find better life and employment. The presence of a family member in the foreign country is also often a pull factor that attracts immigrants to begin a new life there. Likewise, the freedom of speech and democracy, and the closeness of the Florida coast to Cuba are also pull factors that attract immigrants to United States. Push factors that prompted them to seek for asylum was both for economic and political reasons. Under Castro’s term, which turned the country into a communist rule, economy got worse, and there was high unemployment, so that people sought for asylum elsewhere. People also run away from Cuba because they avoided persecution and imprisonment once they say something against Castro. Cubans who immigrated to the United States easily get assimilated to its society because they placed higher value in education. As a consequence, Cubans showed lower unemployment rate and much better financially than other Hispanics, obtained higher education ratio rates and has many Cuban doctors. Today, 20% of Miami businesses are owned by Cubans. They are considered as one of the most educated ethnic groups in the United States (encyclopedia.com,2007) 3.0 Current situation of leaving the country Exit from Cuba will now be easier because according to a news report, the requirements for an exit visa to leave Cuba will be lifted on January 2013(Walser, Rey, 2012). Future travelers need only to present a renewed passport and a visa from the destination country in order to leave Cuba. Since Cuba still retains authority to renew passports or whenever they see it fit, there is a chance that one cannot renew passport for reasons of preservation of human capital or travel exit is denied for security reasons. Fidel Castro was that a brain drain might occur when professionals leave. The Cubans’ length of stay abroad is extended to two years , but can be renewed for another term. Previously, in order to exit from Cuba, one has to apply for a visa from the country one wishes to visit and must pay for an exit permit from Cuba. There are times however, Faine Greenwood (2012) a columnist from Global Post observed, that the visa from the other country has expired already before the exit permit comes. Nonetheless, the new process of exit brings hope that Cubans will be allowed to come and go as they please, be reunited with their family, and to keep their property on the island. The policy that is left unclear is the government warnings about impositions on bans of exits of professionals. Related to this news, is the current advice of the U.S. State Department that it is lengthening Cuban visitors’ visa from six months to five years allowing them to make multiple visits to relatives within the period, instead of repeatedly applying and paying $160 for the right. (Mark, Frank .2013) The change on both countries’ policies now makes it easier for Cubans to work at the United States and go home when they want. 3.1 A special Program for Cuban Immigrants – the lottery draw The immigration quota for Cuban immigrants stays at of 20,000 annually. There are times that this quota is not filled due to disqualifications. To resolve this issue, the U.S adopted a lottery system in which persons who does not qualify as refugees or immigrants can seek to enter the U.S. This program is applicable to Cuban immigrants only. In this system, those who are interested to immigrate to U.S. have to signify his/her interest thru a letter during a specified period. This period is being scheduled by the U.S., the last of which was from June 15, 1998 to July 15, 1998. All letters during the entry period must be coursed through the Cuban mail system that will then be forwarded to Washington for proper processing. The number of winners is based on the number of slots needed to complete the quota of 20,000. Once selected, the applicant goes through a series of scheduled interview and attestation that they have not been convicted with a serious crime, not a member of a terrorist group, or will not be a liability to the public. Winners of the lottery are still subject to the Attorney General’s authority to parole. Applicant should also have a high school education, three or more years working experience, and has relatives living in the United States. 4.0 The Economy. Cuba is the second largest state in the Caribbean Island. In 1961, its population was 6,900,000 reaching 8.400,000 by 1970s. Its population is mixed with 73 percent white, 12 percent black and 15 percent mestizo. Dolgoff, Sam (2011) describes that the socio-economic conditions prevailing before the revolution was a place where there was no hunger, neither it could not be called an economically backward country. Dolgoff, Sam cited several economists and theorists who believed Cuba has the highest standard of living prior to revolution. Analysts in Dolgoff’s study said Cubans were born with silver spoon in their mouth, and if its agriculture is properly cultivated, it could be able to feed fifty million people. Until 1959, Cuban government followed a policy of free enterprise. Government ownership was limited to government utilities. All of these changed when Fidel Castro came into power. Fidel Castro, during his term, created a centrally planned economy patterned after the communist system of the Soviet Union, wherein he instituted nationalization and expropriation of properties. All producers of mines, railroad, telecommunications, and export-import went under control of the government. Government planning in 1960s was based on the premise of where Cuba should concentrate, would it be sugar production, or industrialization. In the end, sugar production predominated, but it is noted that the effort to produce the sugar harvest has diverted big amount of resources. At this period, there was a growing low-productivity and absenteeism in the work force due to policy of eliminating incentives. This was also the time when piece work manufacturing was introduced.(Encyclopedia.com.) The Cuban government also instituted a 5-year development plan , the1975-1980, 1981-85, and the 1986-90 plans that sets specific goal of growth (Encyclpedia.com). However all of the targets were not reached. For instance, the 1975-80 development plan failed to achieve the projected growth of 6 percent annually as it was only able to reach growth of 4 percent. Similarly other attempts of the succeeding development plans failed as to growth proportion. Austerity measures were also imposed while increases in prices of transportation and electricity were simultaneously done. Rationing of some items was done due to scarcity of supply. Meantime, in 1988, as a result of hurricanes, low sugar prices, and the decline of tourism, economic planners predicted the overall growth to be very low, at 1.6% growth rate, far from previous years’ rate. The end result of these disappointments was an increase of government debts and a 12 percent unemployment rate. Seeing that the Cuban government needs to balance the need for loosening its socialist economic against a desire for firm political control, the government, in April 2011 approved an economic development plan that promotes wide economic changes. Since then limited reforms were instituted, some of which are allowing the people to buy few luxuries. The government also started to allow entrepreneurship, and private ownerships. However despite of these reforms, the average living standards of Cubans remain to be low as compared to the standards before the collapse of the Soviet Union (CIA World Facts). 5.0 The impact of Cuban immigration to the United States. The U.S. witnessed hordes of refugees coming from Cuba from August to September 1994. Many came through the sea by means of makeshift boats. These refugees chose voluntary immigration because of the collapse of the Cuban economy and the Soviet Union could no longer subsidize Cuba as an aspiring communist state. The influx of immigrants to U.S. was also the result of President Bill Clinton’s agreement with Fidel Castro’s demand to open the U. S. gates to Cuban immigrants. Pres. Clinton agreed to accept 20,000 refugees annually in exchange for Fidel Castro’s promise to prevent a future mass migration to the United States. However, the coming of Cuban migrants swelled to 50,000, a number that has exceeded its annual quota.  Accepting this big number of migrants means a drain on the Florida budget as its needs to provide for the basic needs of these refugees who left Cuba. Up until now, Cuban immigration remains to be a political issue , and that subsidizing the Cuban refugees would cost the U.S. $1.3billion over the period of 2009-2012.(Valle, Hans de Salas, 2009) 5.1 The preferential treatment The preferential treatment of the United States to Cuba has been the subject of various criticisms from media, foremost of which is the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. The CAA Act read as follows: [T]he status of any alien who is a native or citizen of Cuba and who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States subsequent to January 1, 1959, and has been physically present in the United States for at least one year, may be adjusted by the Attorney General, in his discretion and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien makes an application for such adjustment, and the alien is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence . . . . The provisions of this Act . . .shall be applicable to the spouse and child of any alien described in this subsection, regardless of their citizenship and place of birth, who are residing with such alien in the United States . . . . This Act which went into law on November 2, 1966 granted special immigration privileges to Cubans. Some criticized this Act as playing favorites that even up to this date, it is still being doubted. Turck, Mary, 2014 says “U.S. embrace of Cuban immigration underscores hypocrisy in immigration” . She noted that there is a marked difference given to Cuban immigrants than to those refugees coming from Central America. On a separate note, Javier Arteaga, 2008, referring to the CAA, said: Since the establishment of the CAA over forty years ago, Cubans have been granted unparalleled access to the U.S.15 Known as America’s “special favorites,” “self-imposed political exiles,” and “consumer refugees,” Cubans are the only group granted such “special privileges” and “favorable immigration laws.” Arteaga went on to quote an anecdote portraying favoritism: Five miles off the coast of Miami, Florida, a vessel carrying 131 Haitian nationals who had fled Haiti stopped and picked up two Cubans at sea. They were near death because their boat had capsized. When the vessel arrived in Miami, the Haitians were all sent back to Haiti. The two Cubans were granted access to the U.S. and after one year were eligible to receive green card solely based on their nationality. 6.0 Conclusion. Anent to my questions, I found out that the need for Cubans to exit is political stability and domestic pressure. Economic hardships comes only a second priority and as an effect of confiscation of properties. Once they were in the United States, the Cuban immigrants did not find it hard to assimilate in the U.S. society because they are highly qualified seeing that they are educated. Previous to revolution, Cuba was a prosperous country, being a leading sugar manufacturer in the world, and so the citizenry had no further desire to immigrate. Cubans had to resort to immigration only because they felt a hopeless condition under the communist rule of Fidel Castro. Cubans were forced to leave not by the government, but by circumstances that prevailed at that time so much so that all of the patterns of immigration were tried by Cubans, both legal and illegal. Because of special privileges granted by the U. S. to Cuba, critics think U.S. is displaying partiality, further suggesting that it is time to review the US-Cuban Agreement. Today, migration to various places is no longer difficult as long as one is fully qualified due to globalization. The world is like one big village so that patterns of migration are no longer an issue. Immigration still prevails in Cuba, but the rate of going out is not as big as before. References Artega, Javier. 2008. The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966: More than FortyYears Later a Proposal for the Future 3 FIU L. Rev. 509 retrieved 28 January, 2015 from Castellanos, Sylvia. 1980“The Cuban Refugee Problem in Perspective, 1959-1980”.The Heritage Foundationttp://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1980/07/the-cuban-refugee-problem-in-perspective-1959-1980ndation CIA World factbook, 2014. Cuba. https://www.cia.gov/ Chapman, Linda, 2011 On This Day. Castro Allows Cubans to Emigrate in Mariel Boatlift. Dulcinea. Retrieved January 28, 2015 from http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/April/On-This-Day--Thousands-Authorized-to-Leave-Cuba-in-Mariel-Boatlift.html Dolgoff, Sam. 2011. The Cuban Revolution. A critical perspective. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2014 from Read More