President Obama made history on Dec. 17, 2014 when he announced sweeping changes to the United States’ relations with Cuba.

For more than 50 years, the U.S. policy had been to isolate and punish Cuba and its communist leaders, Fidel and Raul Castro, for human rights and political issues that grew out of the Cold War.

The changes are sure to have a significant influence on Cuban migration to the United States and also have a powerful impact the Cuban exile immigrant community, which is largely divided over the administration’s plans and other political issues.


Over the decades, thousands of Cuban refugees made the perilous trip by sea and started new lives in the United States under the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, or before that flew here as part of the mass exodus known as “Operation Peter Pan.” Many others came through limited immigration quotas between the countries. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 2 million people of Cuban heritage live in the United States — about 1.3 million of them in Florida.

President Obama, according to the White House, used the power of his office to “tear down that ideological wall and end an outdated approach” that for decades failed to advance U.S. interests.

Here’s a look at the most important changes the Obama administration is making:

• The United States will re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, ending a period of isolation that began in January of 1961.
• While relations will move toward normalization, the United States still will oppose the Castro regime when U.S. interests and human rights matters are at stake.
  “Where we disagree,” Obama said, “we will raise those differences directly — as we continue to do on issues related to democracy and human rights in Cuba. But I believe that we can do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values through engagement. After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for an new approach.”
  

• The United States will review Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and consider removing the country from the terror list.
• The United States will permit and help increase travel, commerce and the flow of information to and from Cuba.
  The Cuban economy has essentially been stuck in time for five decades and the impact of new business opportunities with the United States could be dramatic. Obama lifted some travel restrictions during his first term and also loosened restrictions on remittances. But the new changes have the potential to transform the island nation. “This is fundamentally about freedom and openness, and also expresses my belief in the power of people-to-people engagement,” the president said. “It will be easier for Americans to travel to Cuba, and Americans will be able to use American credit and debit cards on the island.”
  
• Having more American tourists walking the streets of Havana will be like having thousands of ambassadors for freedom reaching out to the Cuban people, the president believes.
  ”Nobody represents America’s values better than the American people,” Obama said, “and I believe this contact will ultimately do more to empower the Cuban people.”
  
• A critical prerequisite for making the changes was the return of Alan Gross and other Americans detained by the Cuban regime. Gross, a U.S. citizen and USAID sub-contractor, spent five years in prison for what the U.S. government believes were false charges. Cuba accused Gross of spying and criminal behavior.
  Besides releasing Gross, the Cuban government also released a U.S. intelligence agent who had been imprisoned for nearly two decades. Cuba also agreed to release a number of political prisoners, at the United States’ request.
  
  President Obama gave special credit to Pope Francis for helping to mediate the deal between the two countries. The pope contacted Obama and Raul Castro, urging them to restore diplomatic relations. “I want to thank his holiness Pope Francis,” Obama said, “whose moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be, rather than simply settling for the world as it is.”