Who Was U.S. President During the Mariel Boat Lift?

The precipitating event occurred on April 1, 1980, when a group of Cubans drove a speeding bus into the Peruvian Embassy in Havana. Upon hearing that the passengers had received political asylum, 10,800 more Cubans descended upon the embassy. Castro then declared that beginning on April 20, the Mariel Harbor would be open for Cubans who wanted to join their families in America.

Though many of the Mariel immigrants were relatives of Cuban-Americans, Castro attempted to besmirch the boat lift by including criminals in its numbers. This fact created a media problem for Carter. American authorities eventually detained 2,800 of the Cubans with prior criminal records in federal prisons, some for decades.