News Analysis: Cuban immigration dilemma far from over despite human trafficking concerns

The U.S. Customs Border and Protection said that 9,371 Cubans arrived in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2015, marking a 118-percent surge over the same period in 2014.

In fact, the increase happened in the months following the start of negotiations on the restoration of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba, which was finally clinched on July 20.

Dubbed "wet foot, dry foot", the U.S. policy that welcomes Cuban migrants who make it to the U.S. shore but turns back those caught at sea has sent out confusing signals.

This controversial U.S. policy culminated in the case of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez who was rescued in a sinking boat off the coast of Florida in 1999. The boy finally returned to Cuba after a heavily mediated legal battle.

Looking back in 2013, Gonzalez said that the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1966, had denied his rights, including "the right to be together with my father, the right to keep my nationality and to remain in my cultural context."

Speaking during the negotiations in January, Josefina Vidal, director of the U.S. affairs of Cuba's Foreign Ministry, blasted the U.S. immigration policies as encouraging human smuggling and illegal immigration. The issue of human trafficking was spotlighted on July 30, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

In a gesture of rapprochement, Washington removed Cuba from the blacklist of countries involved in human trafficking. At the same time, Cuba was raised from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List in the U.S. State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons" report.

The report states that "the government of Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, however, it is making significant efforts to do so." It also added that 13 sex traffickers were prosecuted and convicted in 2013.

While Republicans in Congress have said that this move was part of negotiations with Cuba, the report also advised Havana that much work be done to halt human trafficking.

Ironically, in the eyes of the Cuban government, the U.S. embargo and the CAA are the main reasons for human trafficking. Cubans know that setting foot on American soil will automatically offer them chances for a permanent resident status in the U.S..

Since Cuban migrants could not afford air tickets, many of them turned to human smugglers, also known as "coyotes." These predators often charged the Cubans extortionate prices for a seat on boat to Miami, many of which often sank on the way, or across Mexico. The migrants were easily exposed to robbery, rape, and murder by armed gangs.

The U.S. State Department report also said that "traffickers also forced Cuban citizens into prostitution in South America and the Caribbean."

The logic in Cuba and many supporters abroad is therefore that an improved Cuba-U.S. relationship would at least make Cubans less vulnerable to human trafficking, if not stop it.

Speaking in February, Phil Peters, president of the Cuba Research Center, blasted the U.S. immigration policy.

"There is no reason for Cubans to be the chosen people of the U.S. immigration policy, with automatic admission, residency and financial benefits, regardless of need or circumstance," he said.

Yet, according to Marc R. Rosenblum, deputy director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, U.S. President Barack Obama is unlikely to face any pressure to move on this issue.

"President Obama is aware that any change to the CAA will be viewed within the domestic political context. He is aware of how it will play to Republicans and to the Cuban community in South Florida. However, it could also send a message about how he is looking to protect U.S. borders," Rosenblum told Xinhua.

However, critics are becoming increasingly vocal about the CAA remaining in place, particularly given the hypocritical message it sends from an administration that has deported thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans.

This is one area Obama could fix alone, says Rosenblum. "The CAA does not mandate wet foot, dry foot, it simply allows it. Obama could topple that policy while allowing Cubans who can produce a credible evidence of persecution with no need to seek legislative changes within Congress," he explained.

This year, many expected the future of the CAA to be changed. However, despite the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons coming just 10 days after the embassies re-opened, it has become clear that both sides see other issues as bigger priorities.

Speaking to the Cuban Parliament on July 15, President Raul Castro listed the steps the U.S. needed to take before diplomatic relations are fully normalized. These included the lifting of the embargo, the closing of Guantanamo, and the stopping of anti-Cuba broadcasts, except changes to the CAA.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson has said that the Obama administration had no plans to stop "wet foot, dry foot."

"We have no interest at this time and no intention of changing the Cuban Adjustment Act," Jacobson said , adding that immigration was not even part of the talks with Cuba.

This explained why the immigration issue is not a top priority for either side.

Since both countries have reopened their embassies in each other's capital, Obama is planning to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Nevertheless, the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba still remains intact. Endi