Existing comment:
Cold War Crises:
Refugees from Hungary:
The Eisenhower administration established The Presidential Committee for Hungarian Refugee Relief after the Soviet military crushed a Hungarian reform movement in 1956. As this memo describes, the Committee provided temporary housing at an old New Jersey Army base. More than 200,000 Hungarian refugees settled in Europe, Australia, South and Central America, and the United States.
Controversial Boatlift:
In April 1980, Fidel Castro permitted Cubans to leave for the United States from the port of Mariel -- leading to an exodus of over 130,000 people. This Coast Guard "Incident Memo" is among the earliest reports on the boatlift, which became controversial in the United States when Castro added prisoners, addicts, the mentally challenged, and homosexuals to the exodus. |