The Tribune

THE United States government has announced that its “wet foot/dry foot” policy with regards to Cuban immigrants “will come to an end”, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

In a statement released yesterday, the ministry said this was communicated to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell by the US Embassy in Nassau’s Charge d’affaires Lisa Johnson.

“The United States told the foreign minister that the decision comes following the renewal of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the United States and Cuba,” the ministry’s statement said.

“The Bahamas government welcomes this decision, particularly as it believed that this policy was believed to be driving the rise in Cuban landings in The Bahamas.”

The statement said The Bahamas repatriated 187 Cubans in 2014 and 196 in 2015.

However, this number “spiked” around June 2016, with 1,179 repatriated last year.

As of January 12 of this year, 114 Cubans have been repatriated, the ministry added.

“The government is mindful however that the decision is taken just as the political administration in the United States is about to change,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said. “The government waits to see whether the policy will continue beyond the current administration before the government can determine what the policy’s full effects are.”

US President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as that country’s next president on January 20th, replacing President Barack Obama.

The policy allows Cuban immigrants who arrive in the US without a visa to apply for permanent residence, however those migrants caught at sea are detained and repatriated.