In one of his last actions as president, Barack Obama repealed the “wet foot, dry foot” policy that had allowed a path to citizenship for Cuban nationals, provided they made landfall in the United States and were not caught on the open water.
The move, seen by some as a step toward normalizing relations between the United States and the Caribbean island nation, has already stemmed migration flows but left those who had already begun the journey in limbo.
Rafael Acosta Díaz lived in Holguín, a city in eastern Cuba, with his wife and young daughter. He left Cuba on May 6 last year with his wife, in hopes of escaping the poverty and political oppression he saw in his home country. The couple sold everything they owned to raise funds for their journey, which began with a flight to Guyana, which Cubans can enter without a visa.
The couple were separated when they ran low on cash in Guyana, leaving Acosta’s wife to continue on her own. She reached the United States on the day that the policy was repealed, and is currently living in Austin, Texas. Acosta is stranded in Sapzurro, a small Colombian fishing village near the Panamanian border. At the moment, his journey is halted due to a lack of cash and a recent decision by Panama’s government to restrict entry for Cubans.
“We’re here trying to survive, working to be able to eat, to be able to sleep,” Acosta said, outside a hotel where he has found informal construction work. There are eight other Cuban migrants working there with him, stuck in the same situation.
“It’s impossible to make money here.”
