Immigration for Me, but not for Thee
- carolinacastro81
- 46 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Intricacies of legal immigration through a Cuban lens
By: Carolina Castro
Cuban immigrants have long been known for their tireless attempts to cosplay as American-born citizens. As the proud daughter of two Cubans who fled the country 30 years ago, I feel immense shame to see my people try to bring down other less privileged immigrants as an attempt to fit in with a crowd that certainly doesn’t want them. Where did this collective superiority complex come from?
Relations between the United States and Cuba have always been nuanced. In 1933, Cuba was in shambles under dictator Gerardo Machado. Military general Fulgencio Batista executed a general strike that eventually forced Machado to resign: a plan backed by U.S. Ambassador Sumner Welles and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. By 1940, Batista came into power and proved himself to be as bad, if not worse, than Machado.
Though Batista gave up power and seemingly retired to Ramón Grau in 1944, who won the election that year, he returned in 1952 and seized the government in a violent coup d'état. His time in office was marked by severe repression of dissenting citizens and a vigilant police state that kept them in check. The United States remained entangled in the island, with many American mobsters opening casinos that were partially funded by Batista to promote tourism. Infamous criminal Meyer Lansky was one who took advantage of this deal.
Fidel Castro entered the scene in 1953 when he, alongside several members of el Partido Ortodoxo (the left-wing populist party of Cuba) attempted to invade the main base of Batista’s armed forces in the Moncada Barracks of Santiago. The mission failed, and many of Castro’s men were captured and tortured. Batista went on to form a Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities (BRAC), which, of course, was backed by the CIA. BRAC officers were ordered to capture all members of the Popular Socialist Party and imprison them, effectively silencing the party until Castro ultimately gained power in 1959.
The United States has been intervening in Cuban politics for nearly a century, and yet the country still hasn’t improved. Since John F. Kennedy’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and several other wasted efforts to remove Castro from power, Cubans have grown to resent Democrats in office. Many felt abandoned after the United States got involved in the removal of several other dictators, but stopped interfering with Castro once it saw a lack of benefits. They found a new glimmer of hope in 1966, however, when the Cuban Adjustment Act was approved. Cubans could now apply for lawful residency in the United States if they were physically present for at least one year — a privilege that immigrants of other countries were not given.
In the midst of the Cold War and America’s intense fear of communism, Cubans were granted refugee status as a means of intimidating Castro, who was receiving aid from the Soviet Union. Castro, in turn, restricted travel and began requiring visas to exit the island, which the government rarely granted. This resulted in many traveling to the United States by sea. It is no wonder that children of Cuban immigrants all know a story about someone who got to Key West by raft or another makeshift boat that no one could believe made it all the way to the United States. Elián Gonzalez, for instance — a 5-year-old boy who was the sole survivor of a 12-person rafting attempt — popularized the struggles of escaping Cubans. Although his journey inspired thousands of immigrants, Gonzalez was still sent back to Cuba. His story was weaponized and used by both U.S. parties to fight for or against immigration, exposing once again a lack of care for immigrants despite the advantages that Cubans held at the time.
By 1995, the Cuban Adjustment Act was reinterpreted into the “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy. This allowed all Cubans who stepped foot in the United States to seek lawful residency, but all those who were intercepted at sea were to return to the island. This policy was in effect until 2017, when former President Barack Obama terminated it in order to normalize American-Cuban relations. Despite this being an effort to treat Cubans like immigrants from other countries, many took it personally, and once again, vowed to never support democrats.
This brings us to today. It is easy for Cubans to tell others to just “immigrate legally” when they themselves were given unique advantages that sped up their naturalization process. It’s not to say that fleeing a dictatorship was easy for Cubans at the time, but Venezuelans and Nicaraguans were in the same situation and were not afforded the same opportunities.
I implore all Cubans who spew these ironically hateful sentiments to research the lengthy immigration processes that others must endure before defending ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and bashing protestors. The same way hundreds of Cubans gathered to fight for the “Patria y Vida” movement, Americans are currently fighting against the authoritarian shift we are seeing in our own administration. While the mistreatment of American citizens hasn’t been as outright as that of Cubans, the rising parallels should scare any Cuban.
At the same time, I also ask that we give some grace to Cubans. Following decades of various authoritarian regimes and thousands of propaganda materials, they are in a constant state of fight or flight. The mere premise of socialism is terrifying because it has never been properly executed on their beautiful island that has been torn to shreds.
I have been fortunate enough to visit Cuba to meet my own relatives and the place in which my parents grew up, and it is disheartening to see the extreme poverty and inhumane living conditions that the majority of the country is subjected to. Those who escaped don’t want to be reminded of it, going to extremes to avoid the repetition of their own history in their new country, where they are supposed to have a fresh start. Thus, it is vital that we take this time to educate ourselves and each other, reminding one another of our own privileges.
Cuban or not, the pursuit of liberty is a basic human right that many seek in the United States. Immigrants should not be considered criminals for wanting better futures for themselves and their children, and they should not be treated as such.
Carolina Castro is a second-year Marketing major and proud daughter of two Cuban immigrants. ¡Que bolá acere!
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