Citing Costa Rica crisis, New York Times blasts “absurdity” of US policy, calls for repeal of Cuban Adjustment Act

December 23rd, 2015 (EFE and ICR News) The United States should put an end to immigration policies that make it easier for Cubans to leave their island for the United States and which has caused an immigration crisis in Costa Rica, The New York Times editorial board said on Monday.

For the newspaper, these regulations amount to “a Cold War relic that is hindering the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana.”

“Congress should repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act, a 1966 law that created an expedited mechanism to admit Cubans at a time when the United States was seeking to undermine a Soviet ally,” the editorial says.

The Times believes the law has helped human traffickers in Latin America and has created problems in countries where they operate, from Ecuador to Mexico.

The daily also notes that the system has been used by Cuba as “a pretext to impose strict controls on its people and prevented the American government from conducting the type of thorough security vetting that all other immigrants receive.”

Fearing that the thaw in relations between the two countries will bring an end to this policy, tens of thousands of Cubans have hurried their attempts to reach the U.S. this year, creating among other problems a crisis in Costa Rica, where migrants by the thousands have been left stranded after Nicaragua refused to let them cross its border to continue their journey northward.

According to The Times, that situation highlights “the absurdity of America’s policy,” saying:

“The plight of thousands of Cubans who have been stuck in Costa Rica for several weeks has brought into sharp focus the absurdity of America’s policy. Those Cubans, whose journey began in Ecuador, were stranded after Costa Rica disbanded a smuggling ring, and officials in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize decided they would not allow them to continue north.

American officials are at a loss to explain the special treatment for Cubans, which stands in stark contrast to the harsh way the United States typically treats Central Americans, including minors, many of whom are fleeing for their lives.”

The newspaper believes that if Congress fails to act, President Barack Obama should negotiate a new immigration pact with the Havana government.

That pact, the editorial says, should guarantee that Cubans arriving in the United States, who are unable to prove they are at risk of persecution back home, can be returned to the island.

The Times also urges Washington to end a program that encourages the desertion of Cuban doctors and civil servants working abroad.

In exchange, Cuba would have to accept the return of thousands of Cubans deported by the United States after being convicted of some crime, the editorial says.

The paper recalls that the Cuban Adjustment Act is also criticized by members of the Cuban opposition, who believe it further slows the reluctant political change in their country.

The New York Times says there is no justification for the special treatment the U.S. continues to give Cubans, particularly considering the “harsh way the United States typically treats Central Americans, including minors, many of whom are fleeing for their lives.”