A Step Toward Citizenship

When Fidel Castro opened up the Cuban port of Mariel in 1980 and approximately 125,000 Cubans streamed into the U.S., President Carter urged Congress to pass legislation making the newcomers eligible for permanent resident status. But Congress never complied. Since then, the Marielitos, most of whom live in Florida, have remained in legal limbo. That began to change last week when new regulations went into effect permitting the Marielitos to register for permanent resident status. Outside Miami-area immigration offices, Marielitos crowded into lines as early as 3 a.m. At week's end over 20,000 had taken the step. By the Jan. 31,1985 deadline, the Immigration and Naturalization Service expects at least 90% of the Marielitos to be registered.

Not eligible, however, are the 1,544 Marielitos in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, who either had criminal records when they arrived or who committed crimes later. Frustrated by their overcrowded conditions and lack of freedom, the excluded Marielitos have staged two disturbances, including one eight-hour riot, in the past two months.