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HARRY 'NATIONAL ARCHIVES RECORDS SERVICE" Get year Both 1960 DUP REFUGEES GOVERNISTRA For the first time in living memory the United States became a country of first asylum for refugees in 1960. Some 35,000 Cubans in flight from Castro's revolution in Cuba reached Miami during the year and remained concentrated there in the hope that some change of the political wheel in Havana would permit them to return to their homes soon. During the first few months after their arrival they were housed and cared for by the Cuban permanent resident population of 50,000 in Miami and Dade County, Florida. They soon posed problems however for local public officials and institutions particularly the schools which were not prepared to receive such an unexpected increase in children. Most of the refugees had arrived on visitors' visas which soon expired. The Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice announced that no action would be taken to return the refugees to Cuba. Late in December President Eisenhower appointed a special representative to study the problem and made $1,000,000 of federal funds available for relief to supplement local and Floride state resources. There was a large representation of the professional and business groups of Cuba among the refugees. World Refugee Year which was launched by a resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 5, 1958 came to a formal end in June 1960. The purpose of the year was to focus public interest on the problem of refugees and to increase government and private assistance to the refugees. The plan was to leave initiatives in response to the World Refugee Year entirely to national efforts.

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