WE HAVE A KENYAN PRESIDENT, BUT WE DONT HAVE A KENYAN POWERFUL POLITICAL MACHINE RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES IN THE USA. CUBANS PROUDLY BRAG ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE USA GETTING EVERY DAY MORE AND MORE IN THEIR HANDS, IN PARTICULAR THE STATES OF TEXAS AND FLORIDA. IM SCARE BECAUSE COMMUNISTS ARE MASTERS IN DISGUISE. AND THEY KNOW VERY WELL HOW TO USE OTHERS EGO AND HOW TO HIDE AMONG THEM. There is an increased in the numbers of Cubans coming through Mexico. In fiscal year 2007, thirteen thousand fourteen illegal Cubans immigrants were cleared into the U.S., 11,278 of them in TEXAS alone, and FLORIDA cleared the remainder of them to enter the U.S. And remember this: each new Cuban immigrant is a potential voter added, after citizenship, to the already extremely powerful Cuban lobby and political and economic machine. Class and politics matter in immigrants matters. Rather than applying the laws that are set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. treats Cubans as refugees, thereby allowing temporary entrance into the U.S., and then under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, they can apply for permanent residency in a year and eventually after 5 years they can apply for the citizenship under expedited process designed for them. The reason for the preferential treatment of Cuban Migrants from other illegals is the Cuban Adjustment Act. The 1966 Act permitted any Cuban who had been in the U.S. for a year and a day, regardless of how they got here, to have their status adjusted to that of a Legal Permanent Resident. Through the use of political power by U.S. Cubans, they have successfully defeated every attempt to repeal the 1966 Act and have been able to add further preferences for Cuban immigrants, whether legal or illegal. While discussion of migrants is an everyday event, the failure to fully discuss policies of the U.S. toward Cuban immigration is a void that needs to be corrected. While we believe the Cold War is over, there are many who want to keep it alive and to destroy the USA from inside, if downsized, for political, partisan and policy reason. Cuban illegals can show up anywhere on land in the U.S. and immediately be allowed to enter the country. They get a work permit, social security card, public assistance for food and accommodations, medicare if eligible, or medicaid. They are immediately paroled, and their children can get the Pell Grant to go to college and can enter the universities or armed forces without having to spend two years in a college or the military. If they are disabled or elders they can get SSI, and Medicaid from the state. They are eligible for cash assistance, possibly a monthly payment (variable by state) and they are also eligible for refugee resettlement assistance that is designed to help migrants work toward self sufficiency. Childless females, single males, and couples who meet the requirements for programs but not otherwise eligible, can still qualify for other programs. And there are other state programs that are separate from federal ones. An interesting question is whether, with the cutbacks of services by the Federal and state governments, the preferential benefits given to Cubans will continue in the future? But the worst is that this preferential policy is adding tens of thousands of new citizens to the U.S., and thousands of these are migrants who arrived here illegally along with tens of thousands more who received preferential treatment to get here legally. In cases where Haitians and Cubans or Mexicans and Cubans have been captured together, Haitians and Mexicans have been deported while the Cubans have been paroled into the U.S. Besides being eligible for medical and social services, the Cuban illegal is not penalized for being a public charge when applying for permanent residency; instead they are given a fee waver when applying for citizen or green card, this is not true for others. But, one might proclaim, Cubans are coming here because of political oppression and must be treated differently. There are all kinds of arguments against this claim, but one stands out as a very salient rebuttal: the Cubans who come here, illegally or not, can and do return to Cuba for visits and other reasons once they get permanent residency or citizenship. In 2009, two hundred and ninety six thousand Cubans returned to the country. The further irony is that while a former illegal Cuban can go to Cuba if they have relatives living there, a natural born non-Cuban U.S. citizen cannot go. You would hardly return to a place voluntarily if you had been persecuted previously. Cubans Immigrate for economic reasons just as others do. While other nationals cannot get a visa if they will become public charges, this provision does not apply to Cubans, legal or illegal. It is, then, of little surprise when we find other Hispanics protesting the differences in treatment for their nationals. But it is unlikely that the preferential treatment given Cubans will ever change because of the importance of Florida politically, the Cuban lobbyists, the Cubans in Congress, and the lack of press coverage detailing the preferences given to Cubans. The Cubans political influence in the Republican Party is simply too great to get an open discussion. The chaotic immigration situation now existing in the U.S. is further exacerbated by the existence of a group singled out for special preferences that impinge on the political, economic, and social life of the population. By having a powerful political group--the Cuban lobby--exercising veto power over any attempt to establish a uniform immigration policy, we continue to be subjected to justified criticism from other nations over our favoritism, and worst than that Cubans dont come here to work on the jobs other immigrants do. They were given a leftist education in Cuba and come well prepare to take over American jobs. Here is the case of Senator Menendez who introduced legislature that would increase the number of visas for agriculture workers who are needed for harvesting crops, but would he require that some of the Cubans coming here work in agricultural enterprises in order to become permanent residents? There are even many politicians and others who want to allow all Cubans who leave Cuba, to come here. There are the Republicans Illeana Ross-Lethinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, they have long advocated such a course, and he has now returned to Florida where he works to expand the political power of the Cuban lobby. We know there is a tremendous outcry over illegal immigrants who are not getting the benefits Cubans get, and there is sure to eventually be questions asked as to why benefits that are being reduced or taken away for U.S. citizens would still be given to Cubans who are not even citizens. Some 4,000 Cubans, for example, receive disability payments and are not citizens, and cannot speak English. Politicians will, to be sure, continue to fear cutting preferences for Cubans, but an astute non- incumbent politician can make effective campaign points by attacking these preferences, at least in some parts of the country. In public opinion polls after the 2010 earthquake about whether or not Haitians should be allowed to stay in this country or more to be admitted, Americans opposed such policies, but I am not aware of any polls asking if Cubans should be given temporary or permanent residency. Several administrations have been reluctant to grant asylum for fear it would encourage more Haitians to flee the island on dangerous voyages bound for Florida. Critics in Congress say it would reward illegal immigration and strain schools and social services in places like South Florida.” The same reasoning does not apply for Cuban migrants who are encouraged to come because of benefits, jobs special treatment, and other preferences given only to them. Smuggling for Cubans is far more extensive for Cubans than other groups; because of the benefits upon arriving in the U.S., the illegal Cuban can repay the costs within a short time. The preferences given to Cubans also work against an overall solution to immigration. Cuban interest groups and politicians are not going to want reform when it will decrease the number of Cubans, legals or illegals coming to the United States. To paraphrase George Orwell in Animal Farm: all immigrants are equal, but some are more equal than others.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:33:21 +0000