US ENDS "WET FOOT, DRY FOOT" POLICY TO CUBANS|歐巴馬卸任前 終止接納古巴非法移民政策

Cuban and U.S. officials welcomed the decision by the Obama administration to repeal a measure that gave Cubans benefits granted to nationals from no other country. The move to end the policy came just 8 days before the White House was turned over to Republican US President Donald Trump, who said that the U.S. should get more concessions from Havana in exchange for improved relations. Dozens of Cuban immigrants remained stranded in Mexico's Nuevo Laredo across the border from Texas, when the Obama administration abruptly announced the end of the 1995 "wet foot, dry foot" policy that grants automatic residency to Cubans who reached the U.S soil by land on Jan 12. ==ELIADNE Cuban immigrant== We arrived on the 12th (of January) at 9 a.m., they (migration employees) started the application very slowly. Finally, they only finished processing four Cubans at 4 p.m., among them my husband. He left. And look where I am at? Former U.S. President Barack Obama has been working to normalize relations with Cuba since he and President Raul Castro announced a breakthrough in diplomatic relations in 2014. Since then, Cuban immigration has surged as they anticipate their privileged immigration access may end soon. It was reported that 40,000 Cubans arrived in the U.S. in 2015, and about 54,000 in 2016. There are still more en route to pursue their American Dream. ==GABRIEL ALEJANDRO MARIN Cuban immigrant== We have lost all our belongings. We sold them to embark on this journey. We have arrived here with almost no money, the jungle has taken a toll. There are more Cubans on the way. Some with children, some pregnant, elderly, lots of Cubans are on their way back there. And you feel bad because we have been left hanging in the air. The Cuban government, as well as some Cuban citizens, welcomed the news. They said that the repealed measure will discourage illegal immigration, people-trafficking and dangerous journeys over the past few decades. Moreover, they believe it will greatly benefit Cuban health services as a parole program allowing the entry for Cuban health professionals now no longer exists. ==ESTHER MIREYA Cuban citizen== I think this is something that should have been eliminated a long time ago, because it caused a great quantity of immigrants to go out and lose their lives at sea. Other things happened too, they used to steal planes, they stole and nothing happened. I think this is a step forward for us. Still, some Cuban immigrants stranded in Mexico decided to wait and see whether President Donald Trump will reverse Obama's decision. ==EDUARDO MATIAS President of the Cuban Mexican Civic Association == Trump recognized publicly that Cuba hasn't done anything for the well-being of its citizens or complied with the basic standards of human rights or regarding liberties so it is very likely that the new U.S. president will undermine what Obama intends to do. Thousands of Cubans gathered in Costa Rica and Panama last year as Central American countries struggled to cope with the influx. Although the U.S. ended a longstanding exception to its immigration policy, it will continue to guarantee legal immigration from Cuba with a minimum of 20,000 people per year to improve bilateral relations with Cuba. TRANSLATED BY ARIEL HSIEH