wet feet, dry feet policy
E87684
The "wet feet, dry feet" policy was a U.S. immigration rule that allowed most Cuban migrants who reached U.S. soil to stay and seek residency, while those intercepted at sea were returned to Cuba.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States immigration policy
ⓘ
bilateral policy between the United States and Cuba ⓘ |
| appliedBy |
United States Coast Guard
ⓘ
surface form:
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Customs and Border Protection ⓘ
surface form:
U.S. immigration authorities
|
| appliesIf |
Cuban migrant is inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States
ⓘ
Cuban migrant reaches U.S. land territory ⓘ |
| appliesTo | Cuban migrants ⓘ |
| appliesToRoute |
overland routes if Cuban migrants arrived via third countries but reached U.S. soil
ⓘ
sea routes between Cuba and the United States ⓘ |
| basedOn |
Cuban Adjustment Act
ⓘ
surface form:
Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966
|
| consequence | many Cubans who reached U.S. soil later adjusted status to lawful permanent residence under the Cuban Adjustment Act ⓘ |
| controversy |
criticized as preferential treatment for Cuban migrants compared to other nationalities
ⓘ
criticized for encouraging dangerous sea crossings ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criterion | location of interception of Cuban migrants ⓘ |
| doesNotApplyIf | Cuban migrant is intercepted at sea ⓘ |
| effect |
Cuban migrants intercepted at sea were returned to Cuba or to third countries
ⓘ
allowed most Cuban migrants who reached U.S. soil to remain ⓘ contributed to irregular maritime migration from Cuba to the United States ⓘ created incentive for Cuban migrants to reach U.S. land territory ⓘ |
| endTime | 2017 ⓘ |
| enforcementContext | part of broader U.S. interdiction-at-sea practices in the Caribbean ⓘ |
| goal |
discourage unsafe sea voyages from Cuba to the United States
ⓘ
manage irregular Cuban migration ⓘ provide a controlled pathway to legal status for Cubans who reached U.S. territory ⓘ |
| historicalContext | adopted after the 1994 Cuban raft exodus and subsequent U.S.–Cuba migration accords ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | primarily affected entries at the U.S. southern border, Florida coast, and other U.S. ports of entry ⓘ |
| language | informal name used in media and public discourse rather than in statutory text ⓘ |
| legalMechanism | parole authority of the U.S. Attorney General and later the Secretary of Homeland Security ⓘ |
| legalStatus | rescinded ⓘ |
| migrationPatternInfluence | influenced Cuban raft and boat migration in the 1990s and 2000s ⓘ |
| nicknameOrigin | distinction between migrants with wet feet at sea and dry feet on U.S. soil ⓘ |
| opposedBy | some human rights and immigration reform advocates ⓘ |
| otherParty | Cuba ⓘ |
| policyType | executive branch policy interpretation of existing immigration law ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Cuban Adjustment Act
ⓘ
U.S. refugee and asylum policy ⓘ United States–Cuba relations ⓘ
surface form:
U.S.–Cuba relations
|
| replaced | earlier U.S. practice of generally admitting Cuban boat people ⓘ |
| replacedBy | standard U.S. immigration procedures for Cuban nationals ⓘ |
| scope | applied specifically to Cuban nationals and certain stateless persons habitually resident in Cuba ⓘ |
| startTime | 1995 ⓘ |
| supportFrom | some Cuban American political leaders ⓘ |
| terminationAnnouncedBy | Barack Obama ⓘ |
| terminationDate | January 12, 2017 ⓘ |
| terminationReason |
desire to treat Cuban migrants similarly to migrants from other countries
ⓘ
normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.