It’s Time to End the Cuban Adjustment Act

In a surprise move (at least a surprise to me), President Obama announced that our country would be moving towards normalization of our relationship with Cuba. As part of the deal, the two countries agreed to exchange some political prisoners, and it appears we will be restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba and opening an Embassy in Havana.

Evidence that the embargo is working: A dashing Fidel Castro pre-embargo...
Evidence that the embargo is working: A dashing Fidel Castro pre-embargo…

During our long Cold War with Cuba, one element of our “special relationship” has been the Cuban Adjustment Act (“CAA”), a law that allows any Cuban who arrives in the United States to obtain residency here. It’s akin to automatic asylum for any Cuban who reaches U.S. shores.

I have written before about my opposition to this law: In short, I believe that Cubans should apply for asylum in the same way as everyone else. It makes no sense to give automatic asylum to Cubans, especially since other countries—Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq to name a few—are much more dangerous than Cuba, and nationals from those countries must apply for asylum in the normal way.

It seems to me that the CAA and our over-all Cuba policy exists because of our government’s decision that this was the best way to isolate the Castro regime and force democratic change on our island neighbor. More specifically, anti-Castro Cubans in Miami pushed our nation’s Cuba policy towards the all-stick, no-carrot approach that—50 years later—has accomplished nothing. Now, it seems attitudes among the Cuban American community have shifted. To be sure, many still oppose normalization, but—so far at least—we have not seen the type of angry, in-the-streets reaction that characterized the Elian Gonzales affair during the Clinton Presidency. Perhaps there is more widespread recognition that the old policy hasn’t worked, and that we need to try something new.

Fidel Castro, visibly aged due to pressure from the embargo.
Fidel Castro, visibly aged due to pressure from the embargo.

So now that we are moving towards a new phase in our relationship with Cuba, it makes sense to end the CAA. The situation in Cuba is less dangerous than in many other countries, and so there is no longer any justification for the CAA based on humanitarian reasons (though I believe there really never was a valid justification for the law based on humanitarian reasons). The only logical reason for the CAA was as a propaganda tool against the Castro regime. I doubt this ever really worked (except maybe in the minds of some in the anti-Castro Cuban community), and—given that we are moving towards normalized relations—it certainly makes no sense at all any more.

All of this is not to say that the Cuban regime respects human rights or allows political dissent. It’s clear that the government represses the political opposition, and that it detains and persecutes perceived opponents. But that type of behavior is, unfortunately, all too common in many countries, and it does not justify a blanket asylum for everyone who comes from a country with a poor human rights record. Indeed, it is exactly why we have an asylum system in the first place.

The CAA is inconsistent with our new Cuban policy. When viewed in context of the overall asylum system, it cannot be justified on humanitarian grounds. It’s time to end the CAA and move towards a new relationship with Cuba.

Florida Congressman Moves to Limit the Cuban Adjustment Act

Congressman David Rivera (R-FL) recently proposed changes to the Cuban Adjustment Act to prevent Cuban nationals from receiving residency through the Act and then returning to visit Cuba.  In a statement on the matter, Rep. Rivera says:

The fact that Cubans avail themselves of the Cuban Adjustment Act citing political persecution, and then quickly travel back to the persecuting country, is a clear and blatant abuse of the law.  In fact it is outright fraud being perpetrated on the people and government of the United States.  If Cubans are able to travel back to the communist dictatorship then they should not have received the residency benefits associated with the Cuban Adjustment Act and they should lose that benefit immediately.  My legislation simply says that any Cuban national who receives political asylum and residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act, and travels to Cuba while still a resident, will have their residency status revoked.

Mr. Rivera states that his intent is to reform the CAA in order to save this important benefit for future generations of Cubans.

Reforming the CAA is like upgrading your 8-track.

It is interesting that a politician from Florida–particularly one with the anti-Castro bona fides of Mr. Rivera–would have the chutzpa to challenge the Cuban American community on this issue.  It doesn’t strike me as a particularly wise move politically, even if it makes sense from a policy point of view.

Although I am generally pro-asylum, I have long believed that the CAA should be abolished.  The fact that (presumably) many Cubans are returning to the home island for a visit after they receive status in the U.S. just confirms the absurdity of this law.  Clearly, all the Cubans taking advantage of the CAA are not refugees in the normal sense of the word.  If a Cuban person reaches our shores, he should apply for asylum like everyone else.  If he demonstrates a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or particular social group, he should receive asylum.  Otherwise, he should be removed from the United States.  Mr. Rivera’s proposed reform–which is ostensibly to help preserve the CAA–seems pointless given that the law is simply not worth preserving.

Indeed, the only real justification for the CAA that seems remotely reasonable is that it gives us a propaganda win over Cuba since it demonstrates that lots of Cubans would rather live here than there.  Aside from the fact that our country has been enriched by large numbers of Cuban migrants, I don’t see what this propaganda victory has achieved.  The CAA was passed in 1966 and–45 years later–the Castro brothers are still in charge.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a pro-immigrant Congresswoman from California, opposes the proposed change to the CAA:

“No matter what the reason for stepping foot in Cuba, you lose your status,” Lofgren said. “If you go to visit family members you haven’t seen in years, you lose your status. If you go to attend a funeral or donate a kidney to a dying relative, you lose your status. If you go to meet with Cuban dissidents with the aim of transitioning Cuba to a democracy, you lose your status.”

Welcome to the world of refugees from every country other than Cuba.  Asylum seekers and refugees who return to their home country for any reason, including donating a kidney, risk losing their status in the United States.  Again, while I favor offering safe haven to people who need it, I certainly understand why the government would want to cancel a refugee’s immigration status if she returned to her home country.  Of course there might be compelling reasons to return home, and so refugees and asylees who do so can sometimes retain their status.  But given the limited resources of our asylum system, a presumption in favor of such people losing their status makes sense.

In any case, it seems Mr. Rivera’s proposal is not getting much traction.  A more appropriate proposal would be to eliminate the CAA altogether and require Cubans who fear persecution to apply for asylum like everyone else.

Cuban “Asylum Seeker” to Play for Major League Baseball

Leonys Martin: A uniform this ugly might form the basis for an asylum claim.

It looks like the Texas Rangers’ newest teammate will be Cuban defector Leonys Martin, a 23-year old centerfielder who formerly played for the Cuban National Team.  Mr. Martin defected while his team was in Taiwan playing in the FISU World University Championships.  How he made his way to the U.S. is not clear. 

According to the Rangers’ website, Mr. Martin is currently training in Arizona.  He will receive a $15 million signing bonus and will likely begin his pro career on a Double-A team, though he is expected to move to the majors by year’s end.  According to the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Martin’s immigration status caused a bit of delay when it came time for the Rangers to sign him:

Because of the complications of dealing with a player seeking political asylum, the signing has been held up while the sides await proper approval from the U.S. Department of State.

My guess is that Mr. Martin is not an asylum seeker, but rather (like many Cubans) he is a beneficiary of the Cuban Adjustment Act, a law that basically allows Cubans in the United States to obtain their lawful permanent residency after one year in our country.  Since Mr. Martin has been here for less than one year, the problem with signing him may be because he has not yet adjusted status under the Act. 

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Cuban Adjustment Act.  It seems unfair to me to allow Cubans this humanitarian benefit when we deny the benefit to people who come from more dangerous places (like Haiti, for example).  Although many Cubans face persecution in their homeland, I see no reason why they should not file for asylum like everyone else. 

On the other hand, our country has been greatly enriched by Cubans like Mr. Martin coming to our shores.  It’s just too bad that he’s not playing for the Phillies.