But Carter is a victim of what I believe is an irrational hatred toward the Democratic Party by many Cuban exiles, which began with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and persists today. But why?

Carter was not the first Democratic president nor the last to open America's doors to thousands of Cubans fleeing Communist Cuba.

The first was John F. Kennedy. Between the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and 1962, the initial wave of Cuban exiles-with thousands who feared the climb to power of Castro would target them - were sent fleeing the revolution's nightmare before the end of commercial flights between Havana and the U.S. during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. 

Additionally, the JFK administration approved the "visa waiver" program that brought to the U.S. 14,048 minors-including myself-between December 1960 and October 1962, in what became known as Operation Pedro Pan. 

Between 1965 and 1973, some 270,000 Cuban refugees arrived in the U.S. via the Freedom Flights under Democratic Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. It was Republican President Richard Nixon who suspended the Freedom Flights in April 1973. 

The Mariel exodus of 1980 brought a frantic and desperate maritime rescue mission.

Thank you, Jimmy Carter, for all the good that thousands of "Marielitos" have contributed to the U.S. and Cuban exile over all these years. 

Later, between 1994 and 1995, during Democratic Bill Clinton's presidency, 35,000 rafters were admitted to the U.S. after initially being rejected by Florida authorities and redirected under detention to the Guantanamo Naval Base. Clinton provided them entry and humanitarian assistance months later.

During Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, 94,000 Cuban refugees entered the country between 2015 and 2016. The thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations will always be part of Obama's legacy to Cuban Americans. Yet, it cannot be denied that 94,000 Cuban exiles are in this country thanks to President Obama. 

Also not to be denied is that Obama's thawing of relations with Cuba was a diplomatic failure.

Under Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, an estimated 786,048 Cubans sought refuge in the United States between 2021 and 2024. The total number of Cubans who have obtained asylum or refugee protection during the six Democratic administrations, from Kennedy to Biden, is 1,579,096. 

Thank you, JFK (despite the failed Bay of Pigs invasion). 

Thank you, LBJ, for the Freedom Flights (despite the casualties in the Vietnam War). 

Thank you, Jimmy Carter, for the Mariel port to Key West boatlift (despite the crime wave it unleashed on American soil by some of the new arrivals).

Thank you, Bill Clinton, for welcoming the Guantanamo Bay rafters and for the Helms-Burton Act (despite the wet feet-dry feet policy). 

Thank you, Barack Obama (despite the thaw and rapprochement with Havana). 

Thank you, Joe Biden, despite the immigration debacle at the southern border and all the deported rafters. 

Now, the question: How is it possible that, with 1.5 million Cuban Americans in the U.S. directly benefiting from Democratic administrations, the vast majority votes for Republican candidates in nearly every election?

How is it possible that Cuban Americans still perceive Kennedy's aborted Bay of Pigs invasion as an unforgivable betrayal?

How can we continue to ignore that six Democratic presidents facilitated the freedom of more than 1.5 million Cubans and their descendants?

It is time to give thanks for the lives we have been able to build. 

Let us start with the man who fought for peace and human rights throughout his life.

Thank you for our freedom, President Carter, and may you forever rest in peace.

Ileana Fuentes is a Miami writer and feminist who arrived in the U. S. in 1961 during Operation Pedro Pan. She resided in New Jersey during the Mariel boatlift. This story was originally published in the Miami Herald on January 07, 2025