The Nation - News from Nov. 9, 1986

Hundreds of Cubans in American jails could be released soon because of a policy switch by the Reagan Administration, which has been frustrated in its efforts to repatriate them to Cuba. Immigration and Naturalization Service officials confirmed that the change, which could affect 3,000 detainees, was prompted after Cuban President Fidel Castro broke off an agreement that could have sent most of them home. The detainees were among the 125,000 Cubans who came to the United States in 1980 in a massive boatlift across the Florida Straits after Castro allowed them to leave. Some considered dangerous were imprisoned upon their arrival and others were held after committing crimes here.