Easy Money: Cubans leave island to retire in Florida with US benefits

[Judi Lynn]

Easy Money: Cubans leave island to retire in Florida with US benefits

By Megan O’Matz, Sally Kestin and John Maines
Sun Sentinel
Published: October 9, 2015

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — More Cubans are coming to Florida in their golden years to retire, able to tap U.S. government assistance even though they never lived or worked here. The number of Cubans arriving over the age of 60 grew fivefold since 2010, according to state refugee data. At least 185 made the crossing in their 80s or 90s. Unlike most other immigrants, Cubans qualify immediately for food stamps and Medicaid. If they are over 65 with little or no income, they also can collect a monthly check of up to $733 in Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

“They’re getting cheap apartments, food stamps,” said Cuban-born attorney Pedro Fuentes-Cid of Tampa. “They tell their friends in Cuba, and they come over.”

The United States makes it possible under a humanitarian policy of treating Cubans who arrive as refugees. Elderly immigrants interviewed by the Sun Sentinel said they came primarily to be with family, met the aid qualifications and are grateful for the help.

Jose Angel Rodriguez immigrated at 81 to join his daughter. He now lives in Miami on food stamps, Medicaid and SSI. “It wasn’t that bad in Cuba,” he said. “But here, I’m better.”

More:
http://www.stripes.com/news/americas/easy-money-cubans-leave-island-to-retire-in-florida-with-us-benefits-1.372587

[yeoman6987]

1. Seems like am immigrant hit piece

This is not DU goodness at all.

[forest444]

2. It speaks to the issue of preferential treatment, and I think it's a discussion worth having.

You may remember, for instance, that the 1996 Welfare Reform Law (signed by Clinton in an election year) targeted immigrants especially, terminating access to many benefits even if they had been Green Card holders for years (and therefore, paid into the system).

Alas, not Cubans - even if they were fresh off the boat, as it were. And why? Pure politics. Clinton felt his reelection would be so close (if it happened at all) that it may all depend on Florida. This giveaway (the Cuban "Adjustment" Act), he figured, would be good insurance on election day. And it worked: he narrowly won Florida in '96 (he won reelection, as it turned out, by a whopping 210 electoral votes).

Of course, we could be on the subject of Cubans' "refugee" status and the wisdom of such a policy - or lack thereof - all day. But articles like the one above are a good start - and the need to fix, or rescind, bad faith policies is something always worth discussing on DU.

[Judi Lynn]

3. You couldn't possible be more wrong.The U.S. has offered Cuban immigrants, as you should have noted,

benefits NOT offered to any other national group from anywhere.

DU'ers have been discussing the "Cuban Adjustment Act," created by the U.S. Government since around 2000, near the beginning of D.U. It has been a shallow scheme to draw Cuba's citizens to the U.S. by offering them many of the benefits they enjoy in Cuba already, and using their presence here politically, literally buying pawns to use against Cuba.

It's a miracle you don't know about this.

If these benefits were offered to immigrants from other countries, in addition to the TOTAL ABSENSE of harassment from immigration services, OF COURSE, we would be standing check to cheek in this country, having more than filled up many years ago.

Instead, they have allowed Cuban immigration, while running right out into the water in Miami to arrest Haitians arriving after a 900 mile boat trip, prior to sending them immediately back home, where many of them have been in dire straights, the absolute worst prospects in this hemisphere.

Here's what one very knowledgeable DU'er wrote years ago regarding the Cuban Adjustment Act, which hands out benefits to Cuban immigrants as if they are attending a grand smorgasbord:

Have you ever heard of the Cuban Adjustment Act?

"I believe all of the Cubans trying to escape into the US are the real indicators of Castro's paradise."


Nope. You are regurgitating anti Castro propaganda.
It is an indicator of the special perks the US offers to Cubans only.

The US offers 20,000 legal immigration visas per year to Cubans. The US does the background search.

BUT, Cubans who make it here illegally are offered immigration perks like no other nationality by the US Cuban Adjustment Act and the supplementary "wet foot/ dry foot" policy.

IF Cubans make it to the US, NO MATTER HOW, they get to stay and enjoy all of the benefits of the Cuban Adjustment Act. For Cubans exclusively, it offers instant work visa, instant qualification for a green card, instant sec 8 housing with an upper income exemption, instant social security, instant welfare (with some additional perks just for ex-Cubans).

PLUS, they don't have to qualify for a legal visa background search for criminal records or mental illness diagnosis (required of everyone else who wants a US immigration visa).

There is nothing else that compares to this in US immigration policy.

People flock to the US from all over the Caribbean and Latin Americas -democracies-, risking their lives, and quite a lot die attempting, NONE are offered what Cuban immigrants are offered.

Cuban immigrants are the only type of Americans, hyphenated Americans, or resident aliens allowed by the US gov to visit Cuba. They are a special class of "super" citizen in the US that have immigration perks, tax & income exemptions, and (unlike the rest of us in the USA) they have their FULL travel rights.

Why would Cubans want to return to the evil island of the evil Dr Castro that they "escaped" from? I'll tell you why.. they are not "escaping" Cuba. They are coming to America for the same reason that almost all immigrants have come here - (perceived) opportunity - except that Cubans are offered a little more opportunity than any other immigrant (or American citizen).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x4015

The immigrants who are doing all the suffering are ALL of the immigrants from the Western Hemisphere EXCEPT for Cubans. My God!

[w0nderer]

4. was gonna say

dunno bout cubans but as an immigrant to florida from another place
DATS not what i'm getting

use cash dispersing welfare == bye bye immigration status
use other welfare == counts against you

in plain murrikkkan....i don't get sheeeet

[cheapdate]

5. I'm happy for them. Welcome.

[Fearless]

6. If completely true, I'm still fine with that

No one should starve.