Since the 20th century, the United States has been one of the countries that have had the highest refugee resettlement number. In response to this, U.S. government has covered the extent, from occasions of generous welcome to strict rejection. More specifically, the U.S. refugee policy was remarkably consistent in its acceptance of refugee populations fleeing for political asylum. Possibly more than any other groups, U.S. policy regarding Cuban and Haitian refugees during these times showed this unequivocal pattern of differential treatment. Two main factors have influenced the formulation of U.S. refugee policy toward Cuban and Haitian refugees. The first factor is the foreign policies placed by the United States on the refugees that fled and second being the high ethnic concentration and economic activity of both groups. These factors form the basis for understanding the formulation of greatly differing refugee policies toward Cuban and Haitian refugee groups whose qualifications under refugee law are very comparable.
The population of the Miami residents has experienced a radical change in its ethnic composition since Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba in 1959, it has become a second homeland for the United States Cuban-American population. As Lisandro Perez, writer of “Cuban Miami”, further expresses “Miami is the capital and Mecca of U.S Cubans” (86). This is important due to Miami being a large concentration on the Cubans. As stated by Perez, “[The Cuban Population] translated into a demonstrable demographic concentration in the south Florida region”(86). Moreover, this enacted the U.S Government to disperse the Cubans throughout the United States. Due to Castro’s revolution, it forced many individuals to flee from Cuba. As a way to relieve the “demographic and economic pressures” exerted by the rising influx of immigrating Cubans (Perez 87). The U.S Government came up with a plan called “The Cuban Refugee Program” (Perez 86). This plan was a program that was established for families arriving from Cuba that needed assistance once settled to Miami, which offered transportation, employment, and financial assistance until otherwise noted to other parts in the U.S. Also, when the U.S thought that Castro would quickly fall from power, the United States proposed restricted measures to receive any Cubans who would leave their country looking for political asylum. This is important because Congress was seeking a way to normalize the status quo of Cuban refugees who had been allowed to stay. This was brought up by Cuban Adjustment Act, which allowed nearly any Cuban to get a legal permanent residence after one year of living in the country. Ultimately, assisting the Cubans that live in Miami to live and prosper like a normal family.
The Cuban enclave in Miami is particularly significant because of the large unified Cuban occupation in South Florida (Grenier 11). The enclave first formed when a large number of refugees fled whom most were educated but did not speak English. However, they succeeded due to their mastery of professions that would allow their entrepreneurial accomplishment (Perez 91). This is significant because their success developed the foundation for the following wave of Cubans that would come after. The Cuban immigration coming in the following years came with constant labor that would maintain the enclave businesses. Following this success, Miami’s Little Havana became one of the most successful enclaves in the country. Further illustrates Alejandro Portes in “The Social Origins of the Cuban Enclave of Miami”, writer of Sociological Perspectives, where he cites a survey of Mariel boat-lift refuges which found that 86% lived in Cuban neighborhoods, 75% shopped mostly at Cuban stores, and 82% read Spanish-language newspapers suggesting a high degree of social cohesion and loyalty to the nationality (340-372). This information shows how successful the Cuban enclave really was. The enclave created many advantages that cannot be replicated in every enclave, which means that the Cubans could live out their lives within their community without struggling due to the ethnic success that was placed before them which allowed the enclaves completeness.
Similarly like the Cubans, the Haitian emigration increased after President Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier took over Haiti, deprived his citizens of privileges and rights they had under earlier regimes. As the country’s economy became worse, more Haitians began to flee to America, where the sympathetic U.S. government welcomed them. However, the treatment towards the Haitians wasn’t exactly a generous welcome. As shown in “The Refugees Nobody Wants: Haitians in Miami” By Alex Stepick III, “The first detected Haitian boat of refugees arrived in September 1963. They requested political asylum. The Immigration and Naturalization Service rejected their claims and dispatched the boatload back to Haiti”(58). This shows how the United States refused and chose to ignore their call for help. It wasn’t until the Haitians began arriving regularly that the Government started paying more attention to them. Even with that in play, the Government still treated them inferior by adding harsh regulations on new arrivals which would further lower their advances in the U.S. As Alex Stepick explains, “The campaign included the imprisonment of new arrivals, the denial of work permits to those who were allowed out of jail, the wholesale rejection of Haitian claims for political asylum, and since 1981 the permanent deployment of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in Haitian waters to intercept potential refugees and return them to Haiti before they neared the United States” (61). This quote exemplifies how differently the U.S treated the Haitians compared to the Cubans even though they were both were fleeing their countries due to similar reasons. Furthermore, Unlike the Cubans, all the negative backlash received by the government would help set in motion many future events that would cripple their means in expanding their enclave.
Unlike the Cubans, After the Haitians settled in the United States their enclave was not as successful due to the problems like discrimination and that they weren’t able to get jobs as easily. Moreover, like the Cubans, the wealthy Haitians left first. However, they didn’t go to Miami but New York, so they didn’t give the future refugees the groundwork needed to make future enclave business (Stepick III 58). Due to this, the Haitians had to go looking for jobs upon their arrival to the United States. As the Cuban population was succeeding because of the locally grown business, Haitians struggled with finding jobs, especially from their own people. As Alex Stepick III further explains in “The Refugees Nobody Wants: Haitian in Miami,” “For example, in a large sample of Mariel refugees interviewed at the same time as the recent Haitian immigrants, 45 percent of all wage earners were employed by other Cubans from 1985 to 1986. In Contrast, less than 1 percent of Haitian refugees were employed by other Haitians in 1983” (68). The quote signifies how the “lack of ethnic economy” created an impediment for the Haitians. More significantly, this shows how the lack of jobs affected Haitian lives when Stepick showed a figure that represented declines in satisfaction with their lives in the United States due to their weakened family and the discrimination received (69). As a “triple minority: Black, foreign and Linguistically creole,” the Haitians have experienced unique difficulties in finding acceptance as immigrants. Which led the Haitian to become one of the most abused groups of immigrants in America.
While both groups might have left for the same reason, the Cuban and Haitian refugees were greeted by different treatment. As one group was treated as political refugees and were able to successfully succeed, the other group was left to fend for themselves as they battled through injustice. The comparison of the experiences of the Cuban and Haitian refugees seeking asylum in the United States shows how the government and refugee attitude played a huge role in forming the ethnic enclave they have today.