The nearly automatic acceptance of Cubans into the United States as political refugees for 35 years represents a contradiction which lingered in U.S. refugee policy. This article provides a description and analysis of the 1994 Cuban Balsero (rafter) Crisis that prompted a decision by the Clinton administration on May 2, 1995, to officially end the open door era for Cuban acceptance into the United States. The resulting policy change 1) terminated the indefinite detention of over 28,000 Cubans held in safe haven camps, 2) repealed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, 3) put severe new restrictions on travel to Cuba, 4) prohibited the sending of monetary remittances to Cuba, 5) equalized the number of annual visas for Cuba with the other countries of the world, and 6) legalized the return of Cubans intercepted at sea. The authors examine the interaction of variables that set the stage for the Balsero Crisis and analyze how and why its resolution catalyzed the historic policy change. Implications of the resolution of the Balsero Crisis upon problems underlying U.S. relations with Cuba are discussed.This article describes and analyzes the Clinton Administration's decision to end the almost automatic acceptance of Cubans as political refugees to the US. The decision came after the Balsero Crisis in July 1994 after many people stormed embassies and diplomatic residences in Havana, Cuba, demanding asylum and complaining about impoverished living conditions. Riots erupted. The May 2, 1995, policy ended the indefinite detention of over 28,000 Cubans in safe haven camps, repealed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, restricted travel to Cuba, halted monetary remittances to Cuba, equalized the number of annual visas from Cuba, and legalized the return of Cubans adrift at sea. The goals were to solve the immediate migration crisis created by Cubans detained at Guantanamo Bay, to implement controls of future waves of Cuban asylum seekers, and to oppose Castro with economic and political initiatives. The economic embargo during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s devastated the Cuban economy and led to its alliance with the USSR. Each of the four waves of migration was distinctive in composition and reasons for migrating. By the mid-1990s, Cuba was no longer a threat, Soviet interests in Cuba had declined, and the policy was hoped to bring about the collapse of Castro and promotion of democracy. The 1994 resolution ended the contradictory and preferential treatment of Cubans. It also ended the selectivity of the US in admitting those from countries the US was directly opposed to. The permanence of the embargo due to legislation in 1996 is a push factor for mass migrations.

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geopolitics immigration policy refugee policy development Cuba United States