U.S. And Cuba Outline Migration Discussions- They Were Not Pleasant...
/United States Department of State
Washington DC
21 April 2022
Press Briefing
QUESTION: On two – on the two other ones, and this is going to be very brief, I’m just wondering if you can tell us anything about the migration talks with the Cubans today, and then secondly if there’s any update on this delegation visiting the Solomon Islands.
MR PRICE: Sure. So first on the migration talks that we’ve announced with the Cubans, these provide an opportunity for discussion of migration issues between Cuba and the United States. They represent a continuation of our nearly 30-year engagement with Cuba on migration matters as neighboring countries, as neighbor states. We do maintain, as you know, diplomatic relations and discussions on safe, orderly, and legal migration. That remains a primary U.S. interest. It’s the precise reason why we are having these discussions with the Cubans as well as with other partners in the hemisphere. And based on U.S. interests and our support for family reunification for the Cuban people, we did resume these migration talks between the United States and Cuba. They started this morning. They’re occurring over the course of the day today. We have seen – and this, I think, underscores the imperative of undertaking these talks – we’ve seen a significant increase in irregular migration on the part of Cuban migrants coming to the United States. That includes both via overland routes and maritime routes. These talks have been longstanding. They’ve evolved since they were first taken on in 1984. They have since become a biannual occurrence, following the signing of an accord in 1994 and 1995. The talks, of course, have been paused in recent years. They had not occurred since 2018, but they had occurred consistently across administrations since 1995. They do provide an opportunity for important discussions on mutual compliance with migration accords and the commitment of the United States and Cuba to safe, legal, and orderly migration, and that’s the interest of ours, is ensuring safe, legal, orderly migration between Cuba and the United States is consistent with our interest in fostering family reunification and the promotion of greater respect for freedom and human rights in Cuba. Topics for the talks have included well-established mechanisms to address irregular migration and compliance with U.S. immigration law, migration via both land and sea, migration trends, returns and repatriations of citizens, embassy functions, and other related issues. I understand that we’ll have a little bit more to offer upon conclusion of the talks today.
QUESTION: Is it safe to say that you would like to see a reduction in the significant increase in irregular migration that you’ve seen coming from the Cubans? Is that part of what’s being discussed?
MR PRICE: It is safe to say that we would like to see a process that is safe, orderly, and legal, and not one that is dominated by irregular migrants seeking to make a dangerous either overland journey or maritime journey to the United States.
QUESTION: You mentioned that the talks this week, or the talks today are focused on migration narrowly. But as these are the highest-level talks under this administration, do you plan to raise any other issues, if it’s human rights, et cetera, things that have – you’ve voiced concern about before? And could these lead potentially to anything else, to any broader dialogue or developments with Cuba?
MR PRICE: Well, these talks are focused squarely on migration. And again, the topic of these talks are migration trends, irregular migration, returns and repatriations of citizens, embassy functions and related issues. The goal of the talks is to promote safe, orderly, and legal migration between our two countries. Now, of course, our broader policy is predicated on support for the Cuban people, support for their democratic aspirations. There is a migration element of that. There is a family reunification element of that. But these talks are migration talks.
QUESTION: Yes. Going back to the Cuba talks, we understand that – and we spoke earlier in the week with Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. He mentioned that Cubans represent currently the third-largest group of migrants being apprehended at the border. I was going to ask you if someone – a representative from the Department of Homeland Security has participated in these talks today.
MR PRICE: So the U.S. delegation is being led by our deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs. That’s Emily Mendrala. The State Department will have representatives from our Consular Affairs Bureau, our Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and the chargé d’affaires from our embassy in Havana. And representatives from DHS will also join.
United States Department of State
Washington DC
21 April 2022
Migration Talks with the Government of Cuba- Office of the Spokesperson
On April 21, U.S. and Cuban officials met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the implementation of the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords. These bilateral discussions on migration are generally held semiannually, reflecting a commitment by both countries to regularly review the implementation of the Accords. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Emily Mendrala led the U.S. interagency delegation, and Cuba’s Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio led the Cuban delegation. These migration talks provide an opportunity for discussions on mutual implementation of the Migration Accords (comprised of a series of bilateral agreements between the United States and Cuba done in 1984, 1994, 1995, and 2017). The U.S. delegation highlighted areas of successful cooperation on migration, while also identifying issues that have been obstacles to fulfilling the goals of the Accords. Engaging in these talks underscores our commitment to pursuing constructive discussions with the Government of Cuba where appropriate to advance U.S. interests. These discussions represent the first Migration Accord talks between the United States and Cuba since 2018. The United States also addressed consular services at U.S. Embassy Havana, to include resumption of immigrant visa services on a limited basis starting in May, current American citizen services, and current issuance of emergency non-immigrant visas. Enabling safe, legal, and orderly migration between Cuba and the United States remains a mutual interest between the United States and Cuba and is consistent with U.S. interests in fostering family reunification and promoting greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Havana, Republic of Cuba
21 April 2022
Cuba and the United States hold round of migration talks in Washington D.C.
Migration talks between Cuba and the United States were held in Washington D.C. on April 21, 2022. The delegations were presided over by Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Deputy Foreign Minister, and Emily Mendrala, Deputy Assistance Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs respectively. Both delegations reviewed compliance with the Bilateral Migration Accords as well as the mutual commitment to ensure a regular, safe and orderly migration. Cuba reiterated its concern over the measures adopted by the US government which encourage migration, prevent a legal and orderly migration and create social and economic conditions that incentivize emigration. Cuba likewise emphasized that these measures, including those associated to the extreme tightening of the economic blockade, are leading to the loss of human lives and the commission of crimes such as illicit alien smuggling, migration fraud and traffic in persons, which affect both countries and the region. The Cuban delegation insisted on the obligation of the US government to guarantee the issuance in Havana of no less than 20,000 visas per year for those Cubans willing to migrate to the United States, a commitment that has not been complied with since 2017. The Cuban delegation likewise emphasized that there is no reason whatsoever that could justify the continued interruption of that service in Cuba, thus forcing potential migrants to travel to Guyana to have their travel applications processed. The Cuban delegation also reiterated that the United States should stop hindering and violating the rights of Cubans to travel to third countries of the region and called for the comprehensive and non-selective compliance with the Bilateral Migration Accords. (Cubaminrex)
