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The World Socialist Web Site reports
Under the previous policy, Cubans who made it to dry land in US territory were permitted to enter the country and take advantage of the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which allowed Cubans to claim permanent US residency after one year in the country. Cubans who were interdicted at sea by the US Coast Guard, on the other hand, were returned to Cuba.
[...] On January 12, President Barack Obama announced that, effective immediately, the US government would end the so-called "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy, as well as the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program. In a joint statement detailing the changes in migration policy, the Cuban government agreed to accept Cuban nationals deported or returned by the US.
Through these programs, Cubans were extended preferential immigration status and a continued incentive to leave the country, which contributed to a "brain drain" of trained professionals and provided Washington and right-wing Cuban exiles the fodder for propaganda about state repression in Cuba fueling a constant stream of refugees.
Cuba has an abundance of well-trained medical personnel. Economist Dean Baker has pointed out that allowing the American Medical Association to construct artificial barriers to expanding USA's medical labor force is dumb and makes healthcare more expensive.
Also at The New York Times and Fox News.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday January 26 2017, @02:16PM
Some Americans may have had the good sense to flee their country without waiting for a similar proclamation.
I seem to recall people telling me that Fuhrer Obama was going to get rid of those unnecessary elections in 2012. Didn't happen. Similar dire predictions were made about many previous presidents. At some point we have to worry about real problems, not imaginary ones. The wailing and gnashing of teeth from the losers of previous elections amounted to nothing. Democracy stumbled on.
Even counting his various warts, Trump is a typical populist politician. I'm not seeing the cause for concern here that wasn't somehow present with every previous president.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Friday January 27 2017, @01:06AM
> Democracy stumbled on.
Mr. Obama instituted a programme of extrajudicial killings of Americans. Among its (few) victims were a cleric and his teenage son. When a leader can have any of his country's citizens killed on a whim, that's a very serious threat to democracy. I'm not aware that Obama's successor has denounced that programme. That's worrisome. He has remarked "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters."
https://nypost.com/2016/03/05/trump-is-so-yuge-he-doesnt-even-have-to-show-up/ [nypost.com]
To his credit, Obama ended the practice of torture. His successor, however, has said he wants it resumed. Obama failed to end the practice of detention without trial; Mr. Trump has said he will continue it. Mr. Trump has stated his desire to compile a list of "all Muslims in the country."
https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/11/20/donald-trumps-call-for-muslim-registry-denounced-by-democrats/ [nytimes.com]
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/us/politics/japanese-internment-muslim-registry.html [nytimes.com]
When Senator Lindsey Graham—a member of the same political party—criticised Mr. Trump, Trump gave out Graham's mobile number during a public address. That doesn't bode well for the new president's tolerance for dissent.
Under Mr. Obama, America's vast surveillance apparatus appears to have expanded. Trump's remarks appear to indicate continuation of the status quo or further expansion:
"I assume that when I pick up my telephone, people are listening to my conversations anyway, if you want to know the truth. It's pretty sad commentary," Trump said. "But I err on the side of security."
-- http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/01/politics/donald-trump-nsa-surveillance/index.html [cnn.com]