The End of Cuban Exceptionalism: A Post Wet-Foot/Dry-Foot Analysis of Cuban Migration

Abstract

Over the past two years, a new wave of Cubans migrants have undertaken perilous journeys across Central America and the Florida Straits to reach the United States. From January 2021 to February 2023, border authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard recorded 392,184 Cubans arriving in the United States. Factors such as economic hardship, political repression, and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the recent surge. Past waves of migrants benefited from Cuban exceptionalism United States immigration policy, specifically a pathway to legal permanent residency through the wet-foot/dry-foot policy and the Cuban Adjustment Act. This thesis examines this latest and largest exodus to argue that the era of Cuban exceptionalism is over. The analysis draws on qualitative data obtained from fifteen interviews with recently arrived Cubans and an immigration attorney, as well as in-person observations of immigration court proceedings. The thesis traces the immigration policies that led to Cuban exceptionalism and situates the current Cuban migratory wave within the context of a post wet-foot/dry-foot period. The end of Cuban exceptionalism has led to inconsistent legal outcomes due to vague policies and arbitrary decisions by immigration judges and the Department of Homeland Security. Consequently, asylum has become the new avenue for Cubans seeking permanent legal status. The thesis concludes with two policy proposals. First, the Board of Immigration Appeals should issue a ruling that standardizes the treatment of Cubans in immigration court by accepting a Cuban migrants’ release from DHS custody as “parole” under the Cuban Adjustment Act. The second policy, looks broader at the flaws of the detention system and suggests a community-based approach applicable to all individuals seeking asylum at the southern border, regardless of nationality. Such policy reforms would significantly alleviate the immigration limbo, and consequent hardships faced by hundreds of thousands of Cuban migrants and asylum seekers in the United States.