Obama: No more free rides for Cubans

[Devout Centrist]

Nope.

Syrians are not entering our country illegally. We have to physically bring them here, which I oppose for many reasons, but mainly on the grounds of national security.

A far better option is to set up a safe zone within a region of Syria protected by NATO forces, until such a time until the Syrian crises is over.

In other words...Syrians are mooslims so I don't want them here

Yawn.

Look at all of the problems Europe is having. You can close your eyes and cover your ears all you want but we are at war with a motivated group of radicals who have the means and capability to inflict massive harm to our country, and are actively seeking to do so.

If even 1% of a million or so Syrian refugees are sympathetic to Jihad - and I guarantee you that it is higher than that - then we have big problems.

(BTW, my dad's side of the family originated from Iran, and while my dad is a Christian convert, most of his extended family is Muslim. And no, I do not hate them. And yes, they are perfectly accepted and have happy lives in ultra-conservative Oklahoma.)

European nations are more centered around their individual ethnic identities. The United States has a culture that's far easier to integrate into than every European nation. I recommend reading Bassam Tibi for more information. My point is, unlike Europe, the US can take in a lot of refugees and get them into general society better.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

He's genuinely determined to set the world on fire and cause as much damage as he can before he goes as revenge on this country for electing Trump. Exactly how much worse does this need to get before the cabinet steps in?

[Blue3]

Isn't this somethings that Cubans already in Florida have been demanding for some time?

[Cashew]

Meh. Cubans do not deserve special treatment. Why shouldn't other 3rd world countries get the same treatment under this logic.

Because unlike other third world countries, Cubans face the very real (and likely) scenario of being tortured and beheaded for 'treason'.

Here is the thing. Being a political dissident( as commendable as it is) is a choice one makes, being an economic refugee on the other hand is not something that the 3rd world peasants chose. I think it is pretty clear that neither is more deserving of sympathy than the other.

Try again.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I don't see the point of this.

If anything, this provision should be extended to all refugees.

[ag]

He's genuinely determined to set the world on fire and cause as much damage as he can before he goes as revenge on this country for electing Trump. Exactly how much worse does this need to get before the cabinet steps in?

Nah, even if he wanted to set the world on fire, he would have no need to do it himself. The world will be destroyed by Trump: and we all know it. It is Trump who is going to kill you and your family.

But, yeah, this is the one bad decision in the last days of this administration.

[Bigby]

Shame, many of our best and brightest come from Cuba. I trust Cuban immigrants far more than illegals from mainland Latin America or the "refugee children" from Syria.

[ag]

Meh. Cubans do not deserve special treatment. Why shouldn't other 3rd world countries get the same treatment under this logic.

Because unlike other third world countries, Cubans face the very real (and likely) scenario of being tortured and beheaded for 'treason'.

Here is the thing. Being a political dissident( as commendable as it is) is a choice one makes, being an economic refugee on the other hand is not something that the 3rd world peasants chose. I think it is pretty clear that neither is more deserving of sympathy than the other.

Try again.

And, in any case, most Cuban refugees are not particularly political - nor are they in any particular danger of anything other than poverty. While Cuban regime is disgusting, it is not like it is keeping a large chunk of the population behind bars for political reasons. Castro (either one) is (was) no Stalin and you, actually, have to do something to get arrested or otherwise persecuted (it is more Brezhnevite in this respect). And, of course, those who actually fear persecution will still be admitted as refugees.  The point about the old policy was, precisely, that you did not have to prove you were a political refugee to be allowed to stay: you just have to show that you were a Cuban and that your feet were dry.

Still, this is a bad decision. Obama had no reason to do this now - this is not even something that is going to help the Democratic party in the future (if anything, it is going to hurt badly in Florida). I find it very bad both on moral and on political grounds. But, yeah, the way some of the blue avatars here attack it is both stupid and not particularly consistent with any of their other beliefs.

[ag]

Shame, many of our best and brightest come from Cuba. I trust Cuban immigrants far more than illegals from mainland Latin America or the "refugee children" from Syria.

Mariel Boatlift, anyone?

You are not particularly informed about the Cubans, I am afraid.

[ag]

I don't see the point of this.

If anything, this provision should be extended to all refugees.

Fully agreed.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I don't understand this. Until Cuba cleans up their human rights issues, there's no reason to rescind this policy. It's just punishing Cubans

[Person Man]

I really don't understand why there is still an issue with Cuba at all. We should be able to solve the problem of an extreme human rights abuse problem an hour's speedboat trip on a calm day away.

We could probably solve the Cuban problem tomorrow if we wanted to. This isn't 1961.

[Roronoa D. Law]

I think the Wet Foot Dry Foot policy was politically motivated it was more of a jab to Castro than it was about human rights. Plus Haiti exists if anybody should receive special treatment its them.

[DavidB.]

Sad to see Obama is punishing Cubans in Cuba for the fact that their American compatriots voted Republican. I always thought the humanitarian Messiah went around the world saying collective punishment is illegal and illegitimate or something like that? Pretty disgusting he wants to close the borders in his last days as president. What a bigot. "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here!"

[JA]

Well isn't this an ironic twist. Republicans are decrying Pres. Obama  as being too harsh on undocumented immigrants.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Shame, many of our best and brightest come from Cuba. I trust Cuban immigrants far more than illegals from mainland Latin America or the "refugee children" from Syria.

What a stupidly bigoted statement. To base a human being's right to immigrate to another country based on your "trust" of them is stupid. Likewise with their perceived "usefulness." Also, to invoke Syrian refugee children as part of an anti-immigration argument is tasteless, even if you were exaggerating.

[Gass3268]

It's funny how Republicans are criticizing this decision, when they also attacked it's implementation back in '95.

Miami Herald Article

[KingSweden]

I actually agree with this in principle (we should accept Cuban defectors as refugees and not give them a special path to green cards) but this is not how these kinds of decisions should be made.

Holy crap I agree with Santander on something

[Devout Centrist]

Shame, many of our best and brightest come from Cuba. I trust Cuban immigrants far more than illegals from mainland Latin America or the "refugee children" from Syria.

This is quite possibly one of the most nonsensical statements I've ever read. The Cuban intelligentsia either fled long ago or remained in Cuba. What makes Cubans superior to other migrants?

[Higgs]

This should've been done long ago, but it's hilarious how Dems all the sudden care about fairness in how we bring in immigrants.

[Higgs]

Nope.

Syrians are not entering our country illegally. We have to physically bring them here, which I oppose for many reasons, but mainly on the grounds of national security.

A far better option is to set up a safe zone within a region of Syria protected by NATO forces, until such a time until the Syrian crises is over.

In other words...Syrians are mooslims so I don't want them here

Yawn.

Look at all of the problems Europe is having. You can close your eyes and cover your ears all you want but we are at war with a motivated group of radicals who have the means and capability to inflict massive harm to our country, and are actively seeking to do so.

If even 1% of a million or so Syrian refugees are sympathetic to Jihad - and I guarantee you that it is higher than that - then we have big problems.

(BTW, my dad's side of the family originated from Iran, and while my dad is a Christian convert, most of his extended family is Muslim. And no, I do not hate them. And yes, they are perfectly accepted and have happy lives in ultra-conservative Oklahoma.)

In other words...Syrians are mooslims so I don't want them here

In other words...You have no argument so you will proceed to repeat yourself.

[Wells]

Sad, he should have instead have given migrants from every country the same treatment as Cuban migrants.

[ag]

Sad to see Obama is punishing Cubans in Cuba for the fact that their American compatriots voted Republican.

The did not. Even the most hardcore Republican Cuban areas of Miami-Dade have swung sharply towards the Dems. And most Cubans leaving outside those are quite a bit more liberal.

Not that it would make Obama's decision right either way. But, if anything, he should have been rewarding Cubans for coming home.

[DavidB.]

Sad to see Obama is punishing Cubans in Cuba for the fact that their American compatriots voted Republican.

The did not. Even the most hardcore Republican Cuban areas of Miami-Dade have swung sharply towards the Dems. And most Cubans leaving outside those are quite a bit more liberal.

Not that it would make Obama's decision right either way. But, if anything, he should have been rewarding Cubans for coming home.

Florida Cubans went 54-41 for Trump. The 2012 exit poll does not show a figure for Cubans, but given that Florida Latinos (including non-Cubans, who are around 65% of Latino voters in that state) voted 60-39 Obama and 62-35 Clinton there probably may have been a swing to the Democrats among Cubans, even if I assume the swing would be bigger among non-Cuban Latinos. However, I wouldn't say it's a sharp swing, and Cubans were still more Republican than the state overall, which is quite a feat. In the Senate race, Cubans were even more Republican (68-31) than whites (62-34) -- for obvious reasons, of course.

So in both races Cubans voted Republican. That renders factually correct my claim that Florida Cubans voted Republican, even if there may have been a swing against the Republican presidential candidate.

[MasterJedi]

Love how it puts Trump in an awful position. Shows the deplorables too who don't care about Cubans because of politics but hate Mexicans and the evil mooslims.