Don't Blame USCG for Bad Policy

One of the big stories here in Miami is the boat filled with Cubans which capsized in the Florida Straits a few days ago as the occupants were being brought onto a Coast Guard vessel, with 2 women dead as a result. Central to this tragedy is the much-maligned wet foot/dry foot order which has been in effect for 10 years now.

Several of the people who were on board the boat are in Miami waiting (actually hoping) for the other passengers to be released into the U.S. so they can bury their relatives. They are pleading to President Bush to free those who are sitting in a Coast Guard vessel awaiting their fate. Bush is also the only one who can change the ridiculous wet foot/dry foot policy with a few strokes of his pen.

Why won't Bush reverse it? Who knows for sure. But one thing is true, if we're going to get the policy to change, it's by putting pressure on the right people (politicians), not by pointing fingers at the Coast Guard.

Unfortunately, an immigration attorney in Miami is pointing the finger at the Coast Guard in a lawsuit by those who made it back to the U.S. from the ill-fated mission.

I think it's wrong to charge the Coast Guard with negligence in the deaths of the two women. Were mistakes made during the rescue? Possibly. Was it negligence? They'll have to prove that they didn't care about the lives of the people they were saving.

Maybe I'm naive, but the purpose and duty of the Coast Guard is to protect our waters and save lives at sea. It's not their fault that they have to return Cubans back to castro. They are following orders, and when you're in the military, you follow orders. To imply that the Coast Guard is a cruel unit whose only interest is to punish those who are fleeing tyranny is simply wrong.

All the energy and efforts being wasted to file a misguided suit should instead be used to pressure President Bush to change the policy. Once that happens, you won't see any more of what tragically occurred earlier this week.