The Washington Examiner – by Paul Bedard
More Cuban immigrants have arrived in the United States so far this year than in all of 2014 and is on a pace to more than triple 2015’s count, according to a new analysis of the surprising surge.
In a review of the Cuban immigration boom, the Center for Immigration Studies said on Monday that some 26,000 had arrived at United States border stations by the end of February. They arrive saying, “I’m here for Cuban adjustment,” said analyst Kausha Luna, in a reference to the special access given to the citizens of the communist island.
The 13,000 a month pace could suggests a yearly total of 156,000.
For comparison, 24,277 Cubans came to the United States in 2014. That grew to 43,154 in 2015 and is set to break another record this year. And those are just the numbers of arrivals at border stations, mostly in Texas. Some others arrive by boat.
It comes as others claiming asylum like the Cubans are arriving in the United States from the Middle East and South America
Unlike other non-Cuban immigrants who have to prove that they are political refugees of some sort, and not just economic migrants looking for a job, Cubans are given a free pass because of a prior ruling giving the exiles from the Communist nation special status.
In fact, a recent CIS report found that Cubans are facing just a one hour security and background interview before getting into the country where most stay for life.
“They are waived through almost like dropping a token in a turnstile at a subway station,” said Dan Cadman, a Center fellow and 30-year veteran of immigration enforcement, during a conference call with Capitol Hill and the media about a new report on the Cuban immigrant crisis.
Jessica Vaughan, the Center’s director of policy studies, said that U.S. policy has created an open door for those claiming asylum, especially those who claim they will be persecuted if they return home. She said that has led to a number of immigrants previously deported for criminal prosecutions returning.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com