Effect of the Bay of Pigs on Miami

812 Words2 Pages

Cuban Exiles

The Bay of Pigs had a large impact on the Cubans that were already settled in our country and greatly affected the immigration rate into the United States. Their impact in the US and on their home country is enormous. After living in Miami, I can fully understand the effect the Cuban community has on our country. This event changed the way that American citizens viewed Cubans and also changed the way that Cubans looked at the United States.

The Cubans are the third largest Spanish-speaking minority in the country, the largest in the southeast. In a poll taken, the median age is 34. The male to female ratio is fifty-fifty and 95 percent of the Cubans live in urban areas. The early waves of immigrants are now in higher-class jobs and the upper managerial positions. The latest group to arrive in the United States has shown to increasingly take lower level jobs. The Cubans that come to the United States represent a large section of our population, especially in South Florida.

When the first Cubans arrived after Castro took over, they were poor, and many times had to share a small house or apartment with many families. At first, this problem was not noticed. The first organization to lend a hand was the Catholic Church. They opened refugee centers to provide shelter for homeless Cubans and began to develop schools for these children. The congregations of these churches noticed the plight of these refugees and began to spread the news of their struggle.

The country's realization of these problems was the essential part into turning their lives around. The news started to show these struggles and started to show the next wave of immigrants landing on our shores. Because of this media coverage, the American people...

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...ers come into the country and begin taking jobs from more established Americans. So once again this is not an argument against just the Cubans in our country.

In conclusion, this event has had a large effect on our country, especially in Miami. Cubans have landed here to escape communism and have done a good job of making a positive name for themselves. The Bay of Pigs caused a rush of immigration into the country and caused many to live in poverty for a time. In leaving Cuba and coming to the US, Cubans took some jobs away from already established businessmen. Despite these tensions, Cuban-Americans have lived relatively well; this is especially true in comparison to the living conditions they left behind on their home island.

Works Cited

Hunter, Mark C. http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~mhunter/bay_of_pigs.htm

Wiener, Jared. http://members.aol.com/yo1460/byopr/

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