Emigration from Cuba (sometimes referred to as ‘the Cuban exodus’) in the last half century has led more than two million Cubans of all social classes to the United States, and to Spain, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, and other countries. Seeking to normalize migration between the two countries, particularly after the chaos that accompanied the Mariel boatlift, Cuba and the United States in 1994 agreed, in what is commonly called the 1994 Clinton-Castro accords to limit emigration to the United States. The United States grants a specific number of visas to those wishing to emigrate; 20,000 have been granted since 1994. Cubans picked up at sea trying to emigrate without a visa are returned to Cuba while those that make it to US soil are allowed to seek asylum.
