"In the 1980s... U.S.-Cuban relations shifted to include immigration... when a migration crisis unfolded. In 1980... the Cuban government allowed 125,000 Cubans to illegally depart for the United States from the port of Mariel, an incident known as the 'Mariel boatlift.' In 1984, the United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement to resume normal immigration, and to return to Cuba those persons who had arrived during the boatlift who were 'excludable' under U.S. law.

The 1990s witnessed another migration crisis that set back U.S.-Cuban relations... in August 1994, the Cuban Government responded by allowing some 30,000 Cubans to set sail for the United States, many in unsafe boats and rafts, which resulted in a number of deaths at sea. The two countries in September 1994 and May 1995 signed migration accords with the goal of cooperating to ensure safe, legal, and orderly migration."

Jan. 20, 2001 - U.S. Department of State (USDOS) 

"U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) migrant interdiction operations support the U.S. Government policy to ensure safe, orderly and legal migration. Toward that end, the USCG operates throughout the Caribbean, Southeastern U.S. States and Puerto Rico to detect, deter and stop attempts to travel illegally to the United States by sea. Executive Order 12807 is the specific U.S. authority for the USCG to intercept and return undocumented migrants to their country of origin.

Undocumented maritime migration and smuggling threatens the United States from all sides... While economics continue to be the primary factor behind illegal migration, escaping political oppression and military conflict are also significant. Currently, the Coast Guard’s major mass migration threats are from Cuba and Haiti.

With increasing focus on border and transportation security... the need for effective migrant interdiction is being reinforced... our effort remains consistent..."

Sep. 28, 2007 - U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) 

"It is my belief that the American people ... do not want to see another Mariel boat lift. We have gone through [this] once. We had 120,000 people sent to this country as a deliberate attempt -not because they themselves initially wanted to flee- they were encouraged to flee; they were pushed out. We had jails open, we had mental hospitals open, all in an attempt to export all the problems of Cuba to the United States. We tried it that way once. It was wrong then and it's wrong now, and I'm not going to let it happen again... The people leaving Cuba will not be permitted to come to the United States... [they] will be apprehended and treated like others."

Aug. 19, 1994 - William Jefferson Clinton, JD 

"This new policy [1995 Cuban Migration Accords to repatriate Cuban refugees at sea] lessens the threat of dangerous, illegal immigration from Cuba, if its provisions are honored by Cuba and the United States, but we will remain vigilant in our resolve to protect Florida from paying the price for the nation's immigration problems... I think it's pretty fortunate that I went through Mariel 1. It didn't take me long to recognize Mariel 2... The only thing I can tell you is if there were 30,000 more rafters in Florida, I'd hate to be me running for office.

Sep. 11, 1994 - Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr., JD 

"To divert the Cuban people from seeking democratic change, the government of Cuba has resorted to an unconscionable tactic of letting people risk their lives by leaving in flimsy vessels through the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits. Many people have lost their lives in such crossings. We urge the people of Cuba to remain home and not to fall for this callous maneuver. I want to work with all concerned including the Cuban American community to make sure the message goes out to Cubans that putting a boat or raft to sea means putting life and limb at risk... To prevent this from happening again, the Coast Guard has mounted an aggressive public information campaign so people know that vessels... may be stopped and boarded and may be seized. Individuals who violate U.S. law will be prosecuted in appropriate circumstances."

Aug. 18, 1994 - Janet Reno, LLD 

"Clinton's policy to return 'rafters' to Cuba is like returning a slave in pre-Civil War America back to his enslaver. This would have condoned civil rights violations and slavery, as returning a 'rafter' to Cuba condones human rights violations and communism. Clinton's decision on this issue is wrong."

Aug. 5, 2000 - Carl McGill, MA 

"The United States has continued to encourage illegal migration by not discontinuing the practice of paroling all Cuban immigrants who reach its territory in irregular ways... This is done under the 'dry feet, wet feet' policy - which irresponsibly provides that if any illegal Cuban immigrant reaches US territory, they would be accepted in the United States but if intercepted at sea, they are as a rule - though not always - returned to Cuba.

Cuba has repeatedly stated... its strong rejection of this selective policy when repatriating illegal immigrants. The practice of not returning to Cuba all immigrants rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard Service at sea and transferring them to the Naval Base in Guantánamo is an invitation to illegal departures."

Sep. 24, 2007 - Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC) 

"...reality gets lost in political drama when it comes to Cuba. By 1993-4, when the Cuban exodus to Florida took on tsunami proportions, President Clinton invented a 'wet foot/dry foot' formula, under which Cubans who managed to get a toe in U.S. soil obtained rapid parole status, a quick shot at a green card and fast track to citizenship. Clinton used the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act a Cold War relic to justify his 'solution.'

Later, as he negotiated a migration accord with Castro, Clinton promised but failed to get rid of the Act... We need a terminator for current immigration policy. Not Arnold [Schwarzenegger], but a political savant that addresses immigration in terms of fairness and justice not protection for Cubans and persecution of Haitians and Mexicans."

Aug. 30, 2003 - Saul Landau, PhD 

"Statistically speaking, escaping Cuba is deadlier than escaping East Germany used to be. More Cubans die in the attempt. Well, thanks to a policy put into place by president Clinton, (and shamefully left in place) some of the lucky few who make it are now sent back."

Jan. 10, 2006 - Humberto Fontova, MA