How is Cuban immigration to the US different?
Latin Americans in the United States occupy an important part in the life of the country. Their number has increased from 50 to 62 million over the past decade. They make up about 20% of the total population and are the fastest growing ethnic group in America. Of the total number of Latinos, Mexicans account for 60% (37 million people), and Cubans account for less than 4% (2,4 million people). People from different Latin American countries have quite different immigration experiences, and today I will talk a little about that.
Mexicans certainly influenced the spread of the Spanish language among the entire US population. But the Cubans simply turned Miami into a Hispanic city, as I said yesterday. How and why did they do this? Cubans, unlike Mexicans, typically fled Fidel Castro's regime for more than half a century. Many of them planned to return to their home country when he was overthrown, and therefore saw no point in learning English. Mexicans usually go to the USA for a better life and good money, and for this you need to know English. When Fidel Castro came to power (1959), people were sailing from Cuba to the United States, or more precisely to Florida. This was the fastest and most reliable option - the minimum distance between countries was about 180 km.
The US itself attracted the Cubans. First they imposed a bunch of sanctions and embargoes on Cuba, and then established exceptions for Cuban refugees (1966). American immigration law guaranteed permanent residence to any Cuban who entered the country legally or illegally. Then Bill Clinton introduced the “wet foot, dry foot” system (1995). Now the simplified procedure for granting asylum was valid only for those refugees who reached the shore, and those captured by the coast guard at sea were sent back to Cuba. Then Barack Obama finally closed up shop and repealed the law on simplified asylum for Cubans (2017). Now they go through the same procedure as people from other countries. This was done to normalize relations between Cuba and the United States, which, in general, happened, despite the persistence of communism in Cuba. This is how Cubans for 51 years had a unique status in the United States - in fact, by birthright they could receive refugee status and live in the United States. But in fact, not every one of them sought to move from Cuba; many were actually forced to flee their native country.
Cubans living in the United States maintain a strong connection to their culture, have a high level of politicization of the Cuban diaspora in Florida, and at the same time play a large role in the internal politics of the state. Cubans usually vote for Republicans because they have had enough of socialism and everything free in their country.
Author: Anton Nayanzin
