Cuba Calls on the US to Comply With Migratory Agreements

Cuba called on the United States for maintaining measures to encourage illegal migration, among which the privileged treatment of Cubans who arrive at the border and the application of the Cuban Adjustment Act stand out.

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Cuba and US Meet To Discuss Migration Issues

On Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio announced the results of the round of migratory talks with the U.S. that took place in Havana.

Cuba insisted on the need to fully restore immigration and consular services at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, in particular the processing of non-immigrant visas.

The Cuban diplomat also stressed the importance of complying with bilateral migratory agreements in their entirety and not selectively, as the United States has been doing.

Fernandez de Cossio also pointed out that the U.S. blockade against Cuba stimulates migration given that it deteriorates the socioeconomic conditions of the population.

"There is no doubt that a policy aimed at depressing the standard of living of the population constitutes a direct stimulus to emigrate. We have never put up a barrier, it has been the blockade that has put up the barriers," he said, adding that other drivers of migration are regulations granting preferential treatment to undocumented Cubans who enter U.S. territory.

Cuba and the U.S. have a set of migration agreements dating from 1994, which were updated in 2017. They establish the bases for legal and safe emigration between both countries.