~wet foot~dry foot~

Open or closed borders?
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lady cop
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Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:00 pm

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Post by lady cop »

we have a situation in the keys...many years of Cubans crossing the dangerous florida straits in a desperate attempt at freedom. they risk everything in heat and relentless killing sun with no fresh water. the gulf stream current which takes them out to sea forever. men, women, children. rafters in shark-infested waters who have a 30-70 chance of survival. one year the feds told us we could not give rafters water to drink. i told them to try to stop me, the law of the sea says you help to save life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~











Cubans sent home after arrival at bridge piling



U.S. policy on 'wet-foot, dry-foot' called into question



MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Fifteen Cubans who fled their homeland and landed on an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys were returned to their homeland Monday after U.S. officials concluded that the piling did not constitute dry land, authorities said.

Under the U.S. government's "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in the country, while those caught at sea are sent back.

Earlier Monday, officials said the Cubans were aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, as they awaited a final decision as to their status.

The historic Old Seven Mile Bridge, which runs side by side with a newer bridge, is missing several chunks, and the Cubans had the misfortune of reaching pilings from a section that no longer touches land.

The federal government said that means the group never actually reached U.S. territory, and could be sent home.

An attorney representing relatives of the Cubans had filed an emergency request Monday to prevent them from being sent back. The attorney asked the government to review the question of whether the bridge constitutes dry land.

The Cubans, including a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy, left Matanzas Province in Cuba late on the night of January 2 aboard a small, homemade boat. They were rescued by the Coast Guard from the base of the bridge just south of Marathon Key.

"The particular structure that they were found upon is not connected to land. The `bridge' is kind of a misnomer," said Coast Guard Lt. Commander Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the department's Southeast region.

O'Neil said officials in Washington determined the Cubans should be considered "feet wet," because they were not able to walk to land from where they landed.

At least a dozen Cuban-Americans protested the Cubans' situation Monday outside the Coast Guard headquarters in Miami Beach.

"They are trying to go as far as they can ... to take away the immigrants' rights," said Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, a Cuban-American advocacy group.

Veteran immigration attorney Ira Kurzban, who is not involved in the case, called the Coast Guard decision ridiculous.

"The wet-foot, dry-foot policy has no foundation in law," he said. Kurzban said the policy is inconsistent with U.S. and international law, noting that the federal government's jurisdiction extends beyond dry land to waters as far out as 100 miles (160 kilometers).

"International law says that refugees should be granted a hearing before they are forcibly returned," he said.
lady cop
Posts: 14744
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:00 pm

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Post by lady cop »

here's the old 7 mile bridge parallel to the new 7 mile bridge. the old bridge has been segmented and does not meet land according to the article. well it DOES meet land, people use it to walk out and go fishing. but the rafters landed on a piling with no connection to land. .
lady cop
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Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:00 pm

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Post by lady cop »

you know it is probably weird Scrat, but i feel differently about the Cuban refugees than i do about the border problems in the west and illegals in general. i have some sympathy for some reason. the majority of Cubans who settled Miami have been hardworking good citizens. all waiting to repatriate. but fidel outlived their hopes. maybe it's because i've seen these pitiful rafts made out of two inner tubes and a plank with 15 people on it. i am not claiming to make sense, only i have watched too many of them fight to come ashore and i am too damn soft.
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SOJOURNER
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Post by SOJOURNER »

The immigration problem, whether from Mexico, Cuba or other places is a very serious problem for the US. It needs to be addressed better than it has been. We cannot take care of the world on our shores. They are drowning us.

Whatever happened to the days when people who came to this country had to have a sponsor to fall back on so that they would not become a burden on the state?

Why can they come here and get all kinds of assistance from the taxes of hard working people struggling to keep themselves and now them afloat?

Yes we need to help. BUT, we need to help them to help themselves!
lady cop
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Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:00 pm

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Post by lady cop »

i have observed that the Cuban refugees are running from oppression, poverty, starvation, torture and murder. they, for the most part, are not coming over here to garner welfare. i don't want to say un-PC or offensive things about other groups, but i will say i was on the phone to INS this morning about a large group of illegals living right next to me and creating all kinds of havoc, misery and filth.
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