January 16, 2008

“Foreign Policy magazine picks University of Miami report as one of the Top Stories missed in 2007”

Coral Gables, FL. (Jan.16, 2008) Foreign Policy magazine has chosen “The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2007.” Among them, a report issued by the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies (ICCAS) that reports that in the past two years Cubans have been entering the United States in record numbers.

Written by Hans Salas del Valle, senior researcher with ICCAS, the report points out that nearly 77,000 Cubans entered the country between 2006 and 2007. The magazine writes that while most journalists are focusing on the health of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the real story out of Cuba is the impressive exodus of its citizens.

The number of Cubans who have entered the U.S. in the past two years, is more than twice the number of refugees who arrived in Florida during the summer of 1994, the magazine said. At that time 38,000 Cubans fled the island. If the current trend holds, the U.S. will have received 267,000 this decade, more than in any other decade.

“Most of these refugees are not leaving Cuba because of political prosecution,” said Salas del Valle. “They are younger Cubans who don’t see a future for themselves and their families.

“The provisional rule of Raul Castro has not created new jobs or opportunities for the average Cuban. Many do not detect any changes under the rule of Fidel’s brother.”

Many of the new arrivals do not arrive by rafts as was common in the 1990’s, instead they pay smugglers to get them out.

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The University of Miami is the largest private research institution in the southeastern United States. The University’s mission is to provide quality education, attract and retain outstanding students, support the faculty and their research, and build an endowment for University initiatives.  www.miami.edu

Media Contact:
Bárbara Gutiérrez
bgutierrez@miami.edu
305-284-5500