Cuban boat people

Cuban boat people mainly refers to refugees who flee Cuba by boat and ship to the United States. There have been four distinct waves of immigration, both legal and illegal, from Cuba to the United States. These four waves include early boat arrivals, the marielitos, the balseros, and the post "Wet foot, dry foot" arrivals. These waves can be attributed to specific periods in Cuba's socioeconomic decline and stages in Cuban–U.S. relations. Since the 1960s, the process by which balseros would immigrate would become increasingly difficult and dangerous leading to a variety of controversy, both legislative and humanitarian.