MRS > Services and Programs > Programs for Cubans and Haitians
The Cuban/Haitian Primary/Secondary Resettlement Program is one of many special programs administered by Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (MRS/USCCB). The program is funded by the Office of International Affairs, Parole and Humanitarian Assistance Brach, of the Department of Homeland Security, to provide processing and resettlement services to both Cubans and Haitians who are released from immigration custody. It also serves Cubans without relatives in the United States who are paroled directly from Cuba after they win the special Cuban visa lottery. (This special visa lottery is also known in Cuba as “el bombo.”)
The program provides initial processing and later resettlement services for a 90-day period to “free” cases (those with no relatives in the United States). For cases that have relatives in the United States, family reunification services are facilitated for a limited period of 30 days by the diocesan agencies where the relatives live.
One of the program's main goals is to facilitate the clients' financial self-sufficiency through employment to ensure they can provide for themselves, as well as giving them a sense of responsibility and involvement within their respective, new community. This goal is more difficult to reach for the family reunification cases due to their reduced service period.
The case management system adopted by the participating diocesan agencies provides initial orientation to the new arrivals. A comprehensive resettlement plan addresses client needs such as applying for social security cards, obtaining an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), and other initial needs. It also maintains records of cash assistance disbursements, as well as referrals to employment and other community services.
In Fiscal Year 2004 the program resettled more than 3,000 Cuban and Haitian clients. In addition, it provided orientation and vital referral services to other 16,600 new Cuban arrivals.
The Dept. of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration issued the following message April 7, 2006.
MESSAGE
Dear Colleagues:
In response to the concerns recently raised regarding refugee processing in Havana, we are pleased to inform you of the new refugee program information page on the US Interests Section website -- http://havana.usinterestsection.gov.
This new page provides basic information on the US refugee admissions program, eligibility criteria for Cuban nationals, details of the application process, expected processing timeframes, and current contact information for the Refugee Unit at the U.S. Interests Section. It also has a link that allows viewers to download and print the Preliminary Questionnaire, the completion of which is the first step in accessing the program in Havana. It also provides the series of case numbers that are currently being given appointments for prescreening interviews (this number is updated monthly).
While we understand the majority of applicants in Cuba do not have access to the internet, it is our hope that the information on this site can be viewed by concerned relatives and friends in the US and passed quickly to current and future applicants in Cuba.
We encourage you to use your affiliate networks to inform interested members in your communities of this new source of information.
Thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns with us. This is just one of several measures we are undertaking to improve processing for this caseload.
Sincerely,
Barbara Day
Section Chief, Domestic Resettlement
END MESSAGE
1994
Aug. 11: The Senate Judiciary Committee passes a bill that would authorize the Attorney General to order boat people and other aliens in an "extraordinary immigration situation" to be excluded without referral to an immigration judge.
Aug. 19: Following the Coast Guard's picking up of a total of 6,944 Cuban rafters through Aug. 18 (in contrast to 3, 656 in all of 1993), the Clinton Administration announces that Cuban rafters will be intercepted at sea and taken to temporary "safe haven" at the U.S. Naval facility in Guantanamo, Cuba. The Cubans are placed in camps surrounded by barbed wire and told that they will not be allowed to enter the United States, ever.
Sept. 9: The U.S. Administration reaches an agreement with the Cuban government in which the United States promises to admit 20,000 Cubans per year if the Cuban government will stop allowing Cubans to leave the country.
Dec. 2: Attorney General Janet Reno says that she will consider parole on a case-by-case basis for Cuban children (and their families) whose long-term presence in safe havens in Cuba and Panama would constitute an extraordinary hardship. The announcement says that only families with "full financial sponsorship in the United States" will be paroled.
1995
May 2: The Attorney General announces that all Cubans at Guantanamo will be allowed to enter the United States with the exception of those with criminal histories. The decision to admit the Guantanamo population is linked to a new agreement with Cuba that calls for the United States to interdict all future rafters and return them to Cuba after a cursory interview (on board Coast Guard vessels) to determine if they have a "genuine need for protection." Those returned to Cuba are told that they can apply for refugee status through the U.S. interests section in Havana.
2002
October 29: A boat carrying 216 undocumented Haitians and Dominicans sailed into Biscayne Bay, Miami. The refugees’ dramatic scramble to shore was captured on live television. The new arrivals were detained indefinitely.
2003
April 24: Citing “national security and concerns about a possible mass migration from Haiti,” Attorney General John Ashcroft agreed with Miami immigration officials that the Haitians should not be released on bond while they file their claims to remain in the United States.
2004-2005
The harsh 2003 policy of indefinite detention, applied only to Haitians, continues in force. The September 9, 1994, immigration accords with the Cuban regime to approve 20,000 visas per year—and interdict and repatriate Cubans trying to escape the island—has also continued unchanged under the Bush administration.