U.S., Cuba hold talks amid migration crisis

U.S. and Cuban officials met last Monday in Washington, DC for the biannual Migration Talks, amid a crisis that has caused several countries in Central America to grapple with increasing numbers of Cubans attempting to reach the United States. The Cuban delegation criticized U.S. migratory policy, claiming it encourages illegal immigration and thus violates the 1996 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords, which provide for the safe, orderly, and legal migration of Cubans to the United States, the Miami Herald reports.  

Recently, thousands of Cubans have also made their way to Central America, fearing that the normalizing of relations between the United States and Cuba that began last December will end to the U.S. wet-foot, dry-foot policy, which allows undocumented Cubans to apply for permanent residency after one year in the U.S under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

This concern has prompted a 66 percent increase from the last fiscal year of Cuban migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Pew Research Center. To reach the United States, many migrants now labeled “dusty-foot migrants” have flown to Ecuador, which until recently did not require Cubans to hold visas, and made their way through Colombia and Central America. Although it is certainly a longer journey, these  “dusty-foot” migrants often choose this path over  journeying to Florida by boat, a more treacherous journey, according to the LA Times.  

Today, thousands of Cubans are stuck in Costa Rica, after Nicaragua, the country’s northern neighbor, deployed troops along its border to refuse the migrants’ passing. Although Costa Rica argued that Cubans should be offered a “humanitarian corridor” to the United States, Nicaragua, a long-time Cuban ally, responded it would not allow illegal immigration over its borders, the Agence France Presse reports.

In response, the Cuban delegation in the Migration Talks expressed its “profound concern over the continued politicization of the migration issue.” Although the Miami Herald reported the talks were being held in a “respectful and professional atmosphere,” no agreements  were reached and the migration impasse continues.

With the amount of “dusty-foot” migrants rising, some members of Congress have advocated for a change in U.S. migratory policy.

Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) even introduced legislation to repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act. “If President Obama has normalized relations with Cuba, why would we treat illegal immigrants from that nation any different than those from other countries,” he asked. Other Republican members of Congress, such as Marco Rubio, argued that the Cuban Adjustment Act should be updated, not repealed.  

In a statement released by the U.S. Department of State, the United States reiterated that it does not plan to alter its current migratory policy regarding Cuba. And migrants keep coming; according to the Agence-France Presse, around 200 Cuban migrants arrive in Costa Rica every day.

At the conclusion of the talks, Cuba asked to hold another session early next year. Foreign ministers from the Central American Integration System are expected to meet soon in El Salvador to discuss the migratory crisis and develop a possible solution.