Obama ‘screwed’ us, angry Cuban migrants say
http://www.manilatimes.net/obama-screwed-us-angry-cuban-migrants-say/306712/

PANAMA CITY: “Obama has screwed all Cubans,” Yadiel Cruz, a Cuban in Panama bitterly told Agence France-Presse on Thursday upon learning the US president has suddenly made it tougher for migrants like him to get into America.The 33-year-old summed up what many compatriots were feeling as they digested the news in a Catholic shelter in Panama’s capital, a waypoint on their overland trek to the United States. But, he declared, “for me, I’m not going back.”

Around him, dozens of other Cubans expressed sadness or anger.Much of the fury was directed personally at US President Barack Obama for announcing that he has scrapped, with immediate effect, a 1995 policy that had given near-automatic entry to the US to Cubans who set foot on American soil, regardless of their visa status.Now, like those who attempted to cross by water, they could face deportation back to Cuba unless they convince US officials they were afraid of being persecuted or had valid humanitarian reasons to be let in.The move, made just days before Obama leaves office and hands the reins over to Donald Trump, known for his anti-immigration stance, rattled nerves, sparked frustration and evoked tears here.Obama has ‘hurt us’ “We feel sadness because we are all coming with a dream that comes from pain, hunger and a lot of work to get this far,” said Lorena Pena, a woman four months pregnant who left Cuba with her husband and four-year-old daughter.Obama, she said, “screwed up, because what he’s done is hurt us—so he really isn’t as good as everyone says.”

Ulises Ferrer, a carpenter from Havana, said: “We don’t know what we’re going to do now. But what we’re certain of is that we’re not going back to Cuba unless we’re dead.”The shelter they were in, a simple set-up run by the Caritas charity and featuring just one bathroom, is in the Ancon neighborhood of Panama City.It was established months ago to accommodate some of the stream of Cuban migrants who had been passing through Central America on their way to Mexico and then to the United States.The “Wet foot, Dry foot” policy Obama scrapped had meant that many of them felt they were on their way to a new life in America, once they reached the border.Their destination hasn’t changed.

But now the reception and easy access they had hoped for is less likely.If they are accepted into the United States, though, a 1966 law, the Cuban Adjustment Act, is still valid and offers them a fast-track to residency and legal employment.

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