A US coastguard ship return illegal inmigrants to Cuba
(extracts translated from the comparecence in the tv program "Mesa Redonda" of the cuban tv, on July 8th, 2021)
The director of Consular Affairs and Cuban Residents Abroad (DACCRE), Ernesto Soberón, began his intervention at the Round Table by reviewing the background of the current situation, starting with the United States' immigration policy, which "has been an instrument of the hostile policy of that country towards Cuba.
"This has happened," he explained, "since 1959 and the objective has been to destabilize us, discredit us and steal the technical and professional resources that we train in Cuba."
How is this hostility manifested from US immigration policy? According to Soberón, a first element is that laws have been implemented, such as that of Cuban Adjustment Law, the repealed policy of dry feet-wet feet and the "parole" program aimed at health professionals, as well as "other measures aimed at to promote and increase the irregular migration of Cuban citizens to the United States ”.
"This set of actions gives Cuban citizens privileges over other migrants of different nationalities," he pointed out.
“While it is true,” he added, “these privileges have been diminishing in recent years due to the anti-immigrant policy applied by former President Trump, it is also true that the combination of all these actions, policies and factors have created the perception of If you (are cuban) and arrive in the United States, whatever route you use, you have the right to remain in that country and, therefore, that conditions the actions of our nationals.
“Likewise, all flows, regular and irregular, are accompanied by media campaigns aimed at establishing a matrix of opinion that Cuban citizens are fleeing dictatorship, repression, violation of human rights and other pretexts that these means are invented ”.
Then, -continued Soberón- “it turns out that an international phenomenon, such as migration, does not apply to Cuba because, as Professor Jesús Arboleya points out in his lectures: 'Cuban citizens do not migrate, they are all refugees or asylees. '.
“This is highly curious because statistics show that, starting with Cuba's migration policy in 2013, the numbers of Cubans traveling in one direction or another, abroad and from abroad to Cuba, grew annually. In particular, the travels of Cubans to and from the United States.
“Therefore, we would be the only country where the persecuted, the mistreated, those fleeing repression, travel freely to the country where they are supposedly persecuted, mistreated, repressed. It is part of this campaign, "he assured and exemplified with fragments of messages from the press, with which" they intend to justify the migratory flows from Cuba, when it is known that these are not the main motivations. "
According to Soberón, having these antecedents clear, we arrive at the current situation, characterized by four fundamental elements. “The first, the growing obstacles to establishing a regular, orderly and safe flow of travelers between the two countries.
What are these obstacles? The closure of consular services in Havana with an evident political character and the obligation to travel to third countries to request visas to travel to the United States without guarantee that these processes will be granted and making these processes more expensive, "he said.
Likewise, the ambassador mentioned as an obstacle the elimination of temporary multiple-entry visas for Cuban citizens under a false pretext of reciprocity. “There is no such reciprocity. US citizens who manage to travel to Cuba today can acquire a tourist visa at any travel agency that sells this type of visa, without further requirements, ”he assured.
“However, Cuban citizens who wish to visit the United States temporarily have to go to a consular interview, pay for paperwork, and are not guaranteed the granting of a visa. Now, in addition, they have to travel to a third country. So there is no such reciprocity. The Cuban population is affected again ”.
The suspension of flights to the provinces was also mentioned by the manager as one of the growing difficulties in establishing a regular, orderly and safe flow of travelers between the two countries.
Likewise, “another key element in this situation is non-compliance with immigration agreements, particularly visas for migrants. There is a commitment to an agreement to reach at least 20,000 visas annually. In recent years, the United States has stopped granting between 60,000 and 80,000 visas, ”he pointed out.
The director of Consular Affairs and Cuban Residents Abroad also commented on the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic worldwide and in Cuba.
“From an immigration point of view, Cuban citizens received preferential treatment. From the point of view of sending remittances, Cuban citizens residing in the United States are the only ones who have difficulties in sending remittances to their relatives and friends in their country of origin. The rest of the migrants who arrive in the US can do so without any limitation, ”he explained.
According to the manager, “the combination of these four factors is very effective. At the same time, you have the measures to deteriorate the economic situation in Cuba, and in parallel you hinder the orderly migratory flow of travelers. What alternative is left? The irregular migration of our citizens ”.
"In short," he assured, "it can be affirmed, without a doubt, that the main person responsible for the irregular flows of Cuban travelers to the United States is the government of that country itself with the application of this migration policy that we have described."
Soberón recalled that “in the first semester of 2017, the migratory agreements of that year had just been reached, the more than 200 measures that would later be applied and the specialized agencies of the United States government related to migration were going to begin. The migratory conversations that were still taking place at that time, recognized the importance of having reached the migratory agreements of January 2017 due to the favorable impact they had on reducing Cuban irregular migratory flows.
“But not only did these agencies recognize it, it was also recognized by third-country authorities. The big difference is that these transit countries maintain exchange mechanisms with Cuba based on sharing a common goal: to achieve an orderly and safe flow of travelers between Cuba and these different counterparts.
“Meanwhile,” Soberón continued, “the United States suspended the immigration talks. The president and the current government have not yet reestablished them and everything indicates that they do not have much interest in solving the current situation, "he concluded.
Colonel Mario Méndez Mayedo, head of the Department of Identification, Immigration and Foreigners of the MININT ( Ministry of Interior ) :
He pointed out that, despite the manipulation of the migration issue, Cuba has applied 33 measures to update the migration policy.
"Before 2013, 17 had already been applied, and in 2013 the 11 policies were announced here at the Round Table, which from now on have had other updates," he stated and added that in 2016 there was a new measure and in 2018 four others.
"These 33 applied policies have demonstrated Cuba's will for an orderly and controlled flow," she stressed.
The colonel exemplified that in 2013 the Exit Permit procedure for trips abroad was eliminated for private matters of Cuban citizens residing in Cuba, including the Letter of Invitation. He added that in the same year the term of stay abroad for Cuban citizens who travel temporarily was extended from 11 to 24 months.
Likewise, in 2018 the requirement of residence was eliminated so that the children of Cubans residing abroad, who were born abroad, can obtain Cuban citizenship and their identity document.
Méndez Mayedo highlighted that from 2013 to date 1.2 million Cuban residents have traveled abroad, making a total of 5.5 million trips: “It is an important figure that shows a normal, normal flow, where the Most Cubans leave and enter the country without any difficulty ”.
The colonel affirmed that from 2013 to 2021, 749,000 Cubans residing abroad have entered the country 3.4 million times.
Regarding the impact of Donald Trump's sanctions against Cuba, Méndez Mayedo explained that the growth in the entry of Cubans living abroad to the Island was minimal in the period 2018 and 2019.
Approximately 1,600,000 Cubans born in Cuba live abroad, while there are 850,000 children of Cubans living in the United States: "It is a significant impact on Cubans and their families."
Referring to the flow of visitors to Cuba, he highlighted that between 2018 and 2019 there was a drop of 500,000 people, which is associated with the measures of the Trump administration.
“We can categorically say that there is no normal migratory relationship with the United States, and that cannot exist if there is an embassy that does not work, if to temporarily visit the United States I have to go to the United States consulate in Merida, Mexico, in order to travel ”, he affirmed.
The head of the Department of Identification, Immigration and Aliens of the MININT asserted that "any list of measures of the United States against Cuba is reflected from the migratory point of view."
574 people have been returned to Cuba so far in 2021
Colonel Méndez Mayedo pointed out that between 2015 and 2016 there was an increase in illegal exits from the country, as well as a record number of entries through the southern border of the United States. "According to fiscal year 2016, the coast guard returned 5,396 people, and 43,000 Cubans entered the southern border of the United States, and this created conditions for migratory conversations, and the joint declaration of January 2017 is reached" . The colonel affirmed that, after the migration agreements between Cuba and the United States, "the situation changed favorably until the issue began to be manipulated again." "There is manipulation and big business around all of that," he insisted.
Méndez Mayedo reported that in the course of 2021 a total of 574 people have been returned to Cuba (411 from the United States, which have been captured at sea; 89 from Mexico, 73 from the Bahamas and one from the Cayman Islands). “The presence of children is regrettable and highly criticized. We had the bitter experience of receiving an eight-month-old girl who spent the night in a key, "he said, while he commented that the girl had to be admitted to therapy and that she is already on medical discharge.
Referring to the characteristics of the illegal exits from the country, the colonel pointed out the lethality and the repeated shipwrecks, the frequent presence of children, as well as the rustic means in poor condition and overloaded that are used for these purposes. He also highlighted the impact on families, unconditional stays in Bahamian keys, and psychological trauma with lifelong sequelae on those involved.
Regarding irregular transit, Méndez Mayedo said that these are people who legally leave Cuba and immediately join the transit or settle in a third country.
“The transit from South America lasts between 30 and 45 days on average, in very disadvantageous jungle conditions, and the most complex point is the Darien Gap, a jungle area between Panama and Colombia. It is almost impossible not to make this transit without falling into the hands of traffickers and mafias ”, he affirmed.
The colonel added that there are repeated cases of rapes and violent deaths, as well as kidnappings and pressure on family members in Cuba and the United States.
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