14ymedio, Havana, 10 June 2022 — The United States reported that it will resume the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP) for Cubans, and the equivalent program for Haitians (HFRP), this summer.
In a statement issued this Thursday, the same day that the Washington Embassy in Havana announced the imminent expansion of procedures at that diplomatic headquarters, the Department of National Security explains that the decision is part of the search for “safe and orderly alternatives to irregular migration and its many dangers and indignities.”
The CFRP, says the institution, established in 2007 “provides a safe and orderly path” to US territory for “Cuban beneficiaries of approved immigrants based on the family.” The document allows a person to travel to the United States and present themself there before an immigration authority to apply for asylum.
“Both the Cuban and Haitian people are facing a humanitarian crisis and our policy is focused on empowering people to help them create a future free of repression and economic suffering,” the federal agency said in its statement, made public on the same day as the closing day of the IX Summit of the Americas, held in Los Angeles, where President Joe Biden declared that illegal immigration “is not acceptable.”
Days earlier, Brian Nichols, US undersecretary for Latin America, had asserted that his country was exploring “agreements to curb migratory flows on the continent.”
The Island is suffering a drain on human capital through an unprecedented exodus, especially since the agreement between the presidents Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, signed at the end of November, to allow “free visas” for Cubans traveling to Nicaragua. The Central American country immediately became the springboard to reach the United States by land.
From last October to April, 114,000 Cubans have arrived in the United States, according to figures from the Customs and Border Protection Office, and it is estimated that after one year’s time, the numbers will far exceed the 125,000 of the Mariel exodus in 1980.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
