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Before Guantanamo: The Port Isabel Service Processing Center

Easton Powell

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Published in Between The Fences: Before Guantanamo There Was The Port Isabel Service Processing Center

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The Port Isabel Service Processing Center, Located In Port Isabel, Texas, Was A Detention Center For Cuban Refugees From 1957 To 1960. Between The Fences: Before Guantanamo There Was The Port Isabel Service Processing Center

The Port Isabel Service Processing Center was a detention center for Cuban refugees located in Port Isabel, Texas. It was established in 1957 and closed in 1960. During that time, it held approximately 20,000 refugees.

Between the Fences: Before Guantanamo, there was the Port Isabel Service Processing Center

by Tony Hefner

4.1 out of 5

Language	:	English
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The center was established in response to the influx of Cuban refugees fleeing the communist regime of Fidel Castro. The refugees were initially held at a temporary facility at the Port Isabel Air Force Base, but in 1958 the center was moved to a more permanent location at the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.

The center was a large, fenced-in compound with barracks, a dining hall, a hospital, and a school. The refugees were held in the barracks, which were divided into sections for men, women, and children. The refugees were provided with food, clothing, and medical care, and they were allowed to attend school and work.

The center was operated by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS was responsible for the care and processing of the refugees, and it also worked to find them permanent homes in the United States.

The Port Isabel Service Processing Center was a controversial facility. Some people criticized the INS for holding the refugees in detention, and they argued that the refugees should be released into the United States. Others defended the center, arguing that it was necessary to detain the refugees until they could be properly screened and processed.

The center was closed in 1960 after the United States and Cuba reached an agreement on the repatriation of the refugees. The refugees were returned to Cuba, and the center was closed.

The Port Isabel Service Processing Center is a reminder of the Cold War and the United States' response to the Cuban refugee crisis. The center was a controversial facility, but it also played an important role in the resettlement of thousands of Cuban refugees.

Between the Fences: Before Guantanamo, there was the Port Isabel Service Processing Center

by Tony Hefner

4.1 out of 5