Ooohh... COME ON! 15 Cubans denied freedom's promise..
From here:
Cubans fleeing a despotic dictator, IMO, should by definition be allowed political assylum. Can you imagine what fate awaits these 15 people upon their return to Cuba?
15 Cubans Who Got to Fla. Bridge Sent Home
Jan 09 9:47 PM US/Eastern
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI
Fifteen Cubans who fled their homeland and landed on an abandoned bridge piling in the Florida Keys were returned to their homeland Monday after U.S. officials concluded that the structure did not constitute dry land.
Under the U.S. government's "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in this country, while those caught at sea are sent back.
The Cubans--including a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy--were sent back around midday, said a Coast Guard spokesman, Officer Dana Warr. They were rescued last week and were held aboard a Coast Guard cutter while they awaited a final decision on their status.
The case presented U.S. officials with an intriguing legal question, and the way it was handled outraged some Cuban American leaders in Florida.
The Cubans thought they were safe Wednesday when they reached the Old Seven Mile Bridge. But the historic bridge, which runs side by side with a newer bridge, is missing several chunks, and the Cubans had the misfortune of reaching pilings from a section that no longer touches land.
"The `bridge' is kind of a misnomer," said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil. O'Neil said officials in Washington determined the Cubans should be considered "feet wet," because they were not able to walk to land.
An attorney for relatives of the Cubans had planned to file an emergency request Monday to prevent them from being sent back, but did not act in time. William Sanchez said he was going to ask the government to review the question of whether the bridge constituted dry land.
Sanchez said later Monday he would file a lawsuit seeking the return of the 15 Cubans.
"We believe the law was misapplied because they entered U.S. territorial waters and more importantly, they touched a piece of bridge that was clearly under the United States' control," Sanchez said. "If a federal court judge indicates they weren't properly repatriated, there is case law that they could be returned to the United States."
What is it about Cuban immigrants that gets them treated differently than immigrants (who are not fleeing despotic oppression) who cross the Rio Grande nearly at will? I kind of expected this treatment from the Clintonistas, who were all too willing to appease Cuban nutcase Fidel Castro. But I expected different from the Bush administration. Wet feet, dry feet--what's the difference? These people are drawn to the kind of freedom that they could only otherwise have in their dreams, and we slam the door shut on them.
This policy seems so wrong on so many levels.
And speaking of sleeping with Castro, look at the bilge that I stumbled upon here.
(Filed under World Affairs)
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