
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 10, 1994                   TAG: 9409120068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

U.S., CUBA REACH AGREEMENT TO STANCH FLOW OF REFUGEES

The United States and Cuba reached an agreement Friday that will allow thousands more Cubans to enter the United States legally, a move the White House hoped would replace the chaotic refugee exodus with ``a safer, legal and more orderly process.''

The agreement, initialed by negotiators on behalf of President Clinton and Fidel Castro, acknowledged the interests of both countries in ending the risky flight by raft across the Straits of Florida.

Attorney General Janet Reno said the United States would admit a minimum of 20,000 Cubans a year under existing immigration authority. That's in addition to immediate relatives of Cubans who have become U.S. citizens and an additional 4,000 to 6,000 Cubans now on the waiting list for visas.

The 20,000 figure has been an upper limit instead of a minimum, and only a few thousand Cubans actually have been allowed to immigrate each year.

``The aim is to identify Cubans who have strong reasons for seeking exit from Cuba ... and have U.S. sponsors,'' Reno said.

U.S. officials said the more than 24,000 Cubans detained at the Guantanamo Naval Base will not be allowed to apply for immigrant status. ``There will be no processing of any kind,'' said Michael Skol, the chief U.S. delegate to the talks.

Under the agreement, Castro's government agreed to try to prevent unsafe departures from its shores - ``using mainly persuasive methods'' - and to allow some of the 35,000 Cubans who have fled this year to return home without repercussion.

Cuba's chief negotiator, Ricardo Alarcon, was in an upbeat mood in discussing the accord on ``McNeil-Lehrer NewsHour'' on PBS. ``We think that we will succeed ... in persuading people not to try to travel in an unsafe manner,'' he said.

Reno said the Justice Department would announce details of immigration procedures late next week. The department will determine which Cubans will be eligible for ``parole'' status, which could apply to family members who do not qualify for immigrant visas, officials said.

Speaking at the same news conference with Reno, Peter Tarnoff, the undersecretary of state, said the New York agreement had no effect on the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba.

Cuba had wanted the United States to commit to future talks on the 32-year-old U.S. embargo, which Castro's government blames for causing the economic hardship that is driving Cubans to flee. The United States said it would only discuss putting in place an orderly, legal process for migration.

Tarnoff repeated the U.S. claim that Castro was to blame for the current crisis.

``This crisis happened primarily because the people of Cuba are losing hope that their lives are likely to improve any time soon,'' he said.

by CNB