Saturday, May 23, 2009

Resume Immigration Talks with Cuba

The Bush Administration suspended immigration talks with Cuban dictatorship in 2004, but now President Obama wants to re-open for talks with Cuba; hoping to discuss safe and legal migration for Cubans to the US. Cuba has been problematic in not allowing Cuban citizens to retain exit permits in order to leave the country, even though Cuban citizens have been able to get visas and jobs within the United States. Obama wants to solve this issue and start a safe immigration to the US, and the immigration should help Cuba as well “The administration is missing opportunities to make real change in Cuba by not conditioning this type of opportunity on the regime acting to stop denying its citizens exit visas and charging exorbitant amounts of those whom they chose to let exit,” says Sen. Robert Menendez.Do you agree with Menendez? Do you think this is a good idea, to start Immigration talks again?

4 comments:

Oliver Draper said...

I think it is an excellent idea to reopen talks with Cuba, for several reasons. One is that the US and Cuba have been at odds for too long, and given the countries' proximity, the relationship has caused suffering and headaches in both countries. Another reason is that immigration talks may well lead to talks on other subjects. I don't hope for an alliance or friendship--at least not while the castro brothers live--but it would be nice if there was a level of trust between the two countries. Also, during the cold war cuba proved that it was capable (albeit with the help of the soviets) fo presenting a nucleart threat to the US. This is an extremely scary thought, especially if one considers the fact that Cuba may still well have some nukes hidden somewhere. We don't want to be on bat terms with a nuclear power, no matter what size.

Doria Charlson said...

I think that a postive relationship with Cuba is vital for both countries. Not only are these talks helpful for the Cuban-Americans who have family still in Cuba and those who wish to immigrate, but also these talks show the United States in a more postive light in the global community. Since the cold war, America has been intolerant and unwilling to talk to Cuba because of its Communist agenda, but we are fiercely diplomatic with China, which is also technically a communist country. I find that to be hippocritical especially when Cuba has relatively no sway in terms of the safety of the U.S anymore and China and North Korea are real, physical threats.

angela rosensweig said...

It seems to me that America's interest in Cuba is ultimately that of reforming the nation into a type of mini-America. Members of Congress have urged Obama to refrain from dealing with Cuba until the nation “shows greater respect for freedom of religion and speech and holds 'free and fair' elections”. While this will probably benefit the lives of Cubans and their relationship with their government, to me, this sounds like another burden America does not need to take on. It seems as though if America starts requiring such things of Cuba, Cuba could become dependent on the guidance of America. With America already involved in the Middle East, negotiations with Cuba do not seem outrightly necessary. At this point, with the state of the economy and unfinished business in the Middle East, we do not need to baby another country into becoming familiar with the modern world. In addition, America does not seem to have genuine intentions for negotiating with Cuba—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says “'if you look at the gains, particularly in Latin America, that Iran is making and China is making, it is quite disturbing'”. In this manner, it seems possible that America's willingness to negotiate is centered around its own gains—staying ahead of the its rivals and making sure it gets as many benefits as they do. So essentially, to me, it seems more important for America to finish what it has already started before it becomes entangled in the Cuban mess. And opening immigration, while it has many, many benefits, seems like it could easily become one such mess—we may be easing tensions with one nation, while tightening them with others—those like China and Iran who already have claims on the tiny island nation.
(I quoted from these articles http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/04/cuba.embargo/index.html#cnnSTCText, http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/13/cuba.travel/index.html )

Sandy de Sauvage said...

I think starting immigration talks is a good start, but while we're at it we should have normal relations with Cuba. What's the point of imposing an embargo and setting all sorts of restriction on a country just because the way it is administered is different than the way our country is? Why punish a whole nation by making their daily lives hard just because they decided to overthrow a puppet government? Is Saudi Arabia the most democratic place on earth? and if not why not impose sanctions on that country too? The US deals with many dictators and undemocratic rulers throughout the world, so having this kind of a relationship with Cuba is pointless.