Cuban Refugees on their Way to the United States
In the past few months more and more Cuban refugees have left their country in an attempt to reach the United States and get asylum there. While in the past most of them have taken the boat route across the Straits of Florida they are now travelling to central American countries in an attempt to get to the American border by land. But as more and more Central American countries are closing their borders and not letting Cubans continue their journey, thousands are stuck in Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
The United States has a special immigration policy towards Cubans. The law, which was passed in 1966, lets Cubans stay in the United States and become residents if they set their foot on US soil.
Now that the relationship between the United States and Cuba is improving Cubans fear that this special treatment will disappear and the US will treat them just as any other immigrants who want to enter the country. There has been an increase in Cubans leaving the island in the past year. Most of them don't think that a new relationship with the United States will make their lives better.
The Cuban authorities have accused the United States of creating a refugee crisis by the way it deals with Cubans. The American government , however, has stated that it does not want to change immigration laws concerning Cubans.
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Words
- asylum = protection given to a person because they have escaped from their home country
- attempt = try
- authorities = people who are in a powerful position in their country and can make decisions
- border = line between two countries
- concerning = about
- continue = go on
- deal = handle
- disappear = go away, be gone, stop
- government = the people who rule a country
- however = but
- immigration policy = the way the government treats people who want to enter a country and live there
- improve = to get better
- increase= to become more
- journey = trip
- law = rule that a county has
- refugee = someone who has to leave their country because of a war or because of political reasons
- relationship = here: the way in which two countries feel about each other
- resident = someone who lives in a place
- soil =ground
- state = to say officially
- stuck = impossible to go on or continue your trip
- treatment = the way you handle a problem