Dead End in Cuba Policy

The fate of 5-year-old Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy who survived the sinking of a 17-foot boat off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving Day, is now up to American authorities. His father wants him returned to Cuba. The Cuban immigrant community in Miami insists that he remain in the United States.

This tragedy and so many others in the Florida Straits underline the failure of Havana and Washington to develop a relationship that can minimize these perilous voyages. The crisis could be resolved by diplomatic good sense, but more than the Florida Straits separate the United States and Cuba.

Back in 1995, for instance, Washington and Havana signed an immigration agreement granting Cubans 20,000 visas annually. The idea was to promote safe, legal and orderly migration from Cuba to the United States. That has not been the case.

The problem with the policy is that the Cuban Adjustment Act, which Congress passed in 1966, allows migrants to become legal residents within one year after they set foot in the United States.

U.S. Coast Guard ships intercept immigrants in the straits and interview them to judge whether they have a credible fear of persecution by Cuban authorities. Those deemed at risk are sent to Guantanamo, the U.S. naval base in Cuba, to undergo further background checks. Some are subsequently resettled in a third country.

Still other Cubans reach Florida with the help of smugglers. So far this year, 268 boats carrying 2,254 Cubans have reached the U.S. shore. Many others are lost at sea.

This policy is a failure. A humanitarian crisis has become a disaster, and the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act that led to this dead end should be shelved.