WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama announced Thursday he is ending a longstanding immigration policy that allows any Cuban who makes it to US soil to stay and become a legal resident. The repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is effective immediately. The two governments have been negotiating an end to “wet foot, dry foot” for months and finalized an agreement Thursday. Obama said the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program, which was started by President George W. Bush in 2006, is also being rescinded. “By providing preferential treatment to Cuban medical personnel, the medical parole program … risks harming the Cuban people,” Obama said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 13, 2017 04:06 UTC