The United States government through its Charge in The Bahamas Lisa
Johnson communicated to the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell this
afternoon that with immediate effect, the so called “wet foot / dry
foot" immigration policy of the United States with regard to Cuban
nationals landing in the United States will come to an end.
The
United States told the Foreign Minister that the decision comes
following the renewal of diplomatic relations between the two countries
the United States and Cuba.
The effect of the policy is that
Cuban nationals will now be treated like any other foreign nationals
landing in the United States illegally. They will be returned following
the appropriate screening to determine whether they qualify for refugee
status.
The Bahamas Government welcomes this decision,
particularly as it is believed that this policy was believed to be
driving the rise in Cuban landings in The Bahamas.
The Bahamas
repatriated 187 Cuban nationals in 2014. With the US rapprochement of
Cuba at the end of 2014, The Bahamas repatriated 196 Cubans in 2015; and
numbers continually spiked from June 2016 ending the year with 1,179
repatriations. Up to 12th January 2017, 114 Cubans have been
repatriated.
The Government is mindful however that the
decision is taken just as the Political Administration in the United
States is about to change. The Government waits to see whether the
policy will continue beyond the current administration before the
Government can determine what the policy's full effects are.
