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U.S. Foreign Policy, 1959-80: Impact On Refugee Flow From Cuba, John Scanlan, Gilburt Loescher

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Migration from Cuba to the United States since Castro assumed power, and the haracterization of those leaving as refugees, have been strongly affected by U.S. foreign policy concerns. During the 1959-62 migration wave, particularly prior to the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Cubans were welcomed as temporary exiles, likely to topple Castro and return home. The second major migration wave began in 1965, in the midst of a U.S. campaign for systematically isolating and economically depriving Cuba and its citizens. When thousands of those citizens left Cuba, primarily to improve their economic circumstances and rejoin family members, they …