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Martinez (1982a) calls the children of Mariel political pawns and
believes that Florida's Governor Graham is building on political senti
ment to improve his personal career by saying that all 1980 Cuban
entrants must prove their claim to political asylum or be returned to
Cuba. Florida's allocation of federal welfare funds for immigrants was
for 18 months, while other states receiving large numbers of immigrants
were funded for 36 months (Department of Health and Rehabilitative
Services, 1982). Herald Wire Service (1982) quotes Graham as indicating
that he will provide the 1980 immigrants with a humanitarian gesture by
helping them move to any of the 10 states that still provide welfare
benefits. This move is seen by some segments of the Miami community as
a means of relocating some of the refugees in other states, thus al
leviating the burden placed on Florida. A Federal Court Order was
required before aliens, including the 1980 Cubans, were considered
eligible for Dade County welfare benefits. The exact legal status of
these entrants and the determination of their rights is still in limbo
(Boswell, 1982).
To replace the administrative machinery developed and refined during
the two previous Cuban immigrations and destroyed by the 1980 Immi
gration Act, the Cuban/Haitian Task Force was formed under the auspices
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This task force incorporated
the participation of many volunteer agencies to assist in immigrant
resettlement (Bowen, 1980). Many publications document the bungling
which occurred as a result of this processing system (Bach, 1980; U.S.
Refugee Programs, 1980). Nichols (1982) believes the federal government