From CNN Breaking News@VERT to no-reply@siteservices.cnn.com on Thu Jan 12 14:20:13 2017
President Barack Obama is ending the longstanding "wet foot, dry foot" policy[1] that allows Cubans who arrive in the United States without a visa to become permanent residents, two senior US officials told CNN Thursday.
The policy has applied solely to Cubans. Other immigrants who attempt to enter the United States without a visa face arrest and deportation. Havana has long argued the policy encourages Cubans to make the dangerous crossing from Cuba to Florida.
The decision was likely Obama's last move in his historic dealings with Cuba. In 2014, he reopened US relations with the island nation after a half-century of frozen diplomatic ties.
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