Comparing The Cuban And Cuban Refugees In The Late 1970s And Early 1980s

When it comes to Cuban and Haitian refugees in the late 1970s and early 1980s although they were coming to the United States for different reasons, they were both trying to find freedom from dictatorship in their own countries. Though both Cubans and Haitian arrived around the same time in Florida, in Detention by Design, Episode 5: "The New Immigration Detention System Is Born”, Wenski stated, “Because African American communities saw that the Cubans were getting kind of a favored migration status and the Haitians were not” (55). This is important since episode 4: "Mariel Boatlift: The Tide Turns” also states something similar about how Cubans were released quickly while Haitians still had to serve a longer period of time. This shows how differently

One of the similarities these refugees had in common was that their presidents were dictators. Episode 4: "Mariel Boatlift: The Tide Turns" states that, “Tejero says the moment he spoke those words came to the retribution. Cuba, like Haiti, was a one-party country. If you went against the revolutionary government, you were put on a blacklist” (32). Shows that in Cuba there was a dictatorship, and none was able to say otherwise. Also, episode 5: "The New Immigration Detention System Is Born" mentions that “the number of Haitians – begins to skyrocket. Haitians fleeing the Duvalier dictators” (46). Another thing was that many of the refugees from both countries died while coming to Florida in their boats and rafts. Episode 5: "The New Immigration Detention System Is Born" states that, “a lot of boats that ended up coming, sank, and a lot of Haitians ended up dying trying to get to Florida” (46). And in Episode 4: "Mariel Boatlift: The Tide Turns” also states something similar how “a lot of boats still made their way to Cuba to bring friends and family back to the U.S. Many of them ended up sinking and an unknown number of people drowned” (35). Refugees from both countries had many people die while trying to come to Florida though Cuba did receive some help from the US after a