CENTRAL AMERICAN CHILD IMMIGRATION AND CUBAN IMMIGRATION

Acceptance of Central American  (Guatemala, Honduras, and E. Salvador) child immigrants for processing owes to:
U.S. law allows Mexican minors to be sent back promptly, although there are some steps those children can take to try to remain in the United States. A 2008 victims trafficking law [William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 that passed both houses unanimously.] requires that children from countries not bordering the United States, including those in Central America, be given added legal protections before they are deported. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/10/us-usa-immigration-idUSKBN0FF27Y20140710)

Many now are eager to ditch the 2008 law, and make it more like how we treat Mexican children.  Interestingly, conservative columnist George Will thinks we should keep them:
"My view is that we have to say to these children, 'Welcome to America. You're going to go to school and get a job and become Americans,'" Will said. “The idea that we can't assimilate these 8-year-old criminals with their teddy bears is preposterous." (https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/1477de74f088e21e)

Cuban immigrants (estimated to be around 825,000 over the years), for example, have a special status as since 1995 there is no such thing as an illegal Cuban immigrant:
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/06/19/hispanics-of-cuban-origin-in-the-united-states-2011/
Cuban immigrants history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_American


Unlike most Hispanics, Cuban immigrants tend to be Republican since the failed Bay Of Pigs invasion when many Cuban immigrants blamed a lack of air cover for failure of the invasion on John Kennedy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_American)

When was the largest wave of immigrants from Cuba to the United States?

1959 – 1960 – 250,000 Cuban immigrants arrived
1965-1973 – 300,000 Cuban immigrants arrived
1980 – 125,000 Cuban immigrants arrived
Present Immigration continues at a high rate

(http://www.energyofanation.org/Waves_of_Cuban_Immigrants_6_29_06_3_51_PM.html; http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/06/19/hispanics-of-cuban-origin-in-the-united-states-2011/ )

Since a 1995 amendment to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, there has been a "wet foot, dry foot" policy on Cuban immigration.  If caught at sea they are returned to Cuba, if they can step on U.S. soil they are legal immigrants.  It seems, however, if an immigrant is caught at sea can convince the agents they are refugees, they may be allowed in.
(http://immigration.about.com/od/immigrationlawandpolicy/a/U-S-Allows-Cuban-Migrants-Different-Treatment.htm)

Although it is a rather old account, a very interesting documented study is: http://latinamericanstudies.org/exile/cubans.pdf

NO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CUBA

Did you know that any Cuban that gets to our shores is a legal immigrant?  Thus when Marco Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Cuba, speaks you must remember that he speaks from a privileged group of immigrants?  Thus his experience is much different from your ordinary Hispanic illegal immigrant and he is not a good spokesman for them.

The wet foot, dry foot policy is the name given to a consequence of the 1995 revision of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 that says, essentially, that anyone who fled Cuba and got into the United States would be allowed to pursue residency a year later. After talks with the Cuban government, the Clinton administration came to an agreement with Cuba that it would stop admitting people found at sea. Since then, in what has become known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, a Cuban caught on the waters between the two nations (i.e., with "wet feet") would summarily be sent home or to a third country. One who makes it to shore ("dry feet") gets a chance to remain in the United States, and later would qualify for expedited "legal permanent resident" status and, eventually, U.S. citizenship. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy

Thus when people are opposed to granting a path to citizenship for Hispanics from, say, Mexico, they should be aware that immigrants from Cuba are given a path and have been for decades.

This post is not intended to be about Marco Rubio but about the privileged status of Cuban immigrants.  He does have some contradictions, however, in that he is for smaller government yet for the space program.  For those who wish to read more about Marco Rubio, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Rubio.