Cuba: Airlift Anniversary

The airlift of refugees from Communist Cuba last week marked its first anniversary. In that period, more than 45,000 Cubans have been flown free to new lives in the U.S. Though the number who would seek to leave Cuba was originally estimated at 150,000, another 700,000 Cubans still await Fidel Castro’s action on their applications to leave. Despite confiscation of most of their property as a precondition to leaving, only 5% of the first year’s refugees required U.S. welfare assistance—and then only for short periods.