<p>The Miami Herald thinks that the <a target="_blank" title="" immigration="" issue="" fades.="" id="nhdd" href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/386584.html">&quot;Immigration issue fades.&quot;</a> &nbsp; It seems the Sunshine State voters are more concerned about the economy.&nbsp; That might be a national trend as well, as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the one Republican candidate who offers a path to citizenship for undocumented residents, continues to show strength in the primaries.</p>

<p>&nbsp;<br />

Florida does have some special circumstances, however.&nbsp; For one, it&rsquo;s one of the states hardest hit by the mortgage and <a target="_blank" title="Housing construction in Florida" id="my3-" href="http://realestatemiamifl.blogspot.com/2007/12/building-recovery-predicted-to-skip.html">housing construction crisis</a>.&nbsp; For another, Cuban immigrants&mdash;who are influential in South Florida and, with more than 450,000 registered voters, make up about 60% of the Latino population there&mdash;are not affected by immigration limitations.&nbsp; They have the <a target="_blank" title="Cuban Adjustment Act" id="f57." href="http://www.state.gov/www/regions/wha/cuba/cuba_adjustment_act.html">Cuban Adjustment Act</a>, which since the 1960s has granted them, alone among all immigrant groups, legal residence as soon as they arrive, with no&mdash;or at least few&mdash;questions asked.</p>

<p><br />

The Act underwent a policy reinterpretation under President Bill Clinton in 1994.&nbsp; The Soviet collapse in 1991 had meant an implosion of the Cuban economy and desperate times&mdash;1994 was the worst year&mdash;and Clinton needed to head off the growing number of arrivals at the time.&nbsp; Now it&rsquo;s called the &quot;dry foot, wet foot&quot; policy, which means that emigrants intercepted by the Coast Guard at sea are returned to Cuba, but those who touch any part of <i>terra firme</i> get to stay.</p>

<p><br />

In a new variant, more and more Cubans are now heading first for Mexico, then crossing the border into the U.S.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s the <a target="_blank" title="Cubans head for Mexico first" id="d_ij" href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-01-10/news/the-deadly-road-through-mexico">&quot;dusty foot&quot;</a> option. While Mexicans line up for suspicious inspections at the border, Cubans go right around them to the nearest immigration official for an official welcome.</p>

<p>&nbsp; <br />

On a related matter, here&rsquo;s a note to Rep. Ron Paul, who has proposed doing away with &quot;birthright citizenship.&quot;&nbsp; A whole lot of well-off Venezuelan women, somehow concerned that President Hugo Chavez may want to steal their children, are now <a target="_blank" title="Flying to Miami" id="ppqx" href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cvenbirth12jun12,0,3323182.story">flying to Miami to give birth there</a>.&nbsp; If they can&rsquo;t get rid of Chavez, they want to have children who are U.S. citizens by birth.&nbsp; In any case, it may help to keep options open for shopping opportunities.</p>