A wave of Cubans finally reach U.S.

 In many ways, Randy Cuevas' journey to cross the southwestern U.S. border was typical for undocumented immigrants: a dangerous trek with devious smugglers, corrupt police, many nights in squalid conditions and a constant fear of what would come next.

But Cuevas is Cuban, which means a happy ending for his trip, unlike most others trying to cross the border. That's because U.S. law allows any Cuban who reaches U.S. soil to apply for political asylum and stay.

He is one of thousands of Cubans whose quest to reach the U.S. by land became the focus of intense international negotiations among Central American countries and reignited a U.S. debate over the special treatment Cubans receive under federal immigration laws.

Cuevas, a medical technologist from Havana, said he couldn't describe the joy he felt when he finally stepped onto U.S. soil in Laredo, Texas, on Jan. 14. Yet the journey also left him physically beaten and mentally scarred, partly because of all the others he saw along the way whose treks wouldn't end so triumphantly.

"You're left conflicted," said Cuevas, 30, now living with friends in North Carolina. "I met Colombians, Arabs, Haitians, all kinds of people doing the same thing. Yet the Cuban passes. It hurt me seeing how depressed they'd get when we would leave. But it's not the Cubans' fault. That's the law."

Cubans fed up with their island's communist government and crippled economy historically have tried to reach the U.S. by sea, braving 90 miles of shark-infested waters in rafts, inner tubes and makeshift boats. But recently, many have taken advantage of their ability to fly to Ecuador without a visa to begin the more than 2,000-mile-long overland journey.

In 2014, 17,470 Cubans presented themselves at U.S. land ports along the Mexican border, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In 2015, that number nearly doubled to 30,966, and Customs officials say they expect that trend to continue.

Customs "is prepared to process the expected increase in Cubans applying for admission at south Texas ports of entry," agency spokeswoman Jenny Burke said.

Many of those journeys came to a halt in November, when Nicaraguan officials prevented Cuban migrants from passing through their country. That forced neighboring Costa Rica to house and feed the growing number of Cubans stranded there.

At one point, the Costa Rican government estimated that up to 8,000 Cubans were living in schools, gymnasiums and other makeshift shelters built along the border. The refugee crisis has gone on for so long that the government announced last week that it will start moving the Cubans to other facilities to clear the schools for upcoming elections and the new school year that's set to start in February.

Costa Rica started negotiating with countries farther north — including Belize, Honduras and Mexico — to see if they would accept the Cubans. Finally, Guatemala agreed to help, and on Jan. 12, the first flight of 180 Cubans took off. From that point, the Cubans could continue their journey north.

That provided hope to thousands of Cubans still in Costa Rica. The next scheduled flight departs Wednesday,  and more will follow. Even so, many have decided they couldn't wait any longer and tried to cross through Nicaragua on foot despite horror stories they've heard about that journey.

"People get desperate. They don't know who to trust anymore," Jaime Aguilera Sierra, one of the Cubans still stuck in Costa Rica, said by phone. "They're leaving like that every day, but I'm waiting for the flight. It doesn't hurt me to wait another month if I have to because our lives are most important."

Cuevas, who was lucky enough to be on the first flight out of Costa Rica, said the journey didn't get any easier from there. A Mexican police officer tore up his transit visa and another demanded all the money he had left as he approached the Texas border.

Randy Cuevas, right, poses for a picture with other Cuban migrants in Mexico City on Jan. 13, 2016, during their long trek to the United States. (Photo: Handout)

Everything changed once Cuevas walked into the U.S. port of entry. Under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, he gets immediate asylum, and after a year and a day, he can apply to become a legal permanent resident.

"They take your papers, ask you a series of questions, take your fingerprints, fill out some paperwork and then they say, 'Welcome to the United States,'" Cuevas said.

That privileged status has long upset other Latin American countries that say it's unfair for Cubans to receive such preferential treatment. Lately, even Cuban-American lawmakers feel it's time to change the law.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., have filed bills to limit legal entry only to those who truly were subjected to political persecution. Rubio and Curbelo say too many Cubans coming to the U.S. aren't fleeing persecution but seek better economic opportunities, and they visit Cuba as soon as they get their green cards.

Curbelo said the Obama administration opposes such a change because it is normalizing relations with Cuba, and that's a big reason why so many Cubans continue to make the life-threatening journey. "The administration said that they have no plans to address Cuban migration policy," he said, "and we are now seeing the results of that action."