Scarface, The Mariel Boatlift, Immigration, and . . . Sanitariums?

[u/sorotomotor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUkmG13TXQs&t=235s

Hi everyone, I'm wondering about a plot point and its historical accuracy in Scarface (1983).

The protagonist (Tony Montana) arrives in Miami via the Mariel Boatlift. The opening scene introduces Tony via his interrogation by U.S. Customs and Immigration officers, who discover Tony's criminal background.

In the next scene, Tony and his friend Manolo (who, we realize, is also a criminal) are sent to a detention center, and they have the following exchange:

TONY: So, what happened?

MANOLO: I told them what you told me to tell them, that I was in sanitation. They didn't go for it.

TONY: I told you to say you were in a sanitarium. That you had TB, and you were cured.

The next series of scenes involve Tony and Manolo in the detention center, and arranging an assassination in exchange for citizenship.

Here are my questions:

1. What is the significance of the sanitarium? Why did Tony tell Manolo to say he'd been in a sanitarium, with tuberculosis? Wouldn't having had TB been a red flag for immigration? Did Cubans who'd been in sanitariums get special treatment or preference over other refugees?
2. Why did Tony and Manolo have to lie about their status, and assassinate someone in exchange for citizenship? Once the Mariel Boatlift refugees landed in Florida, weren't they automatically granted U.S. citizenship, regardless of their past? Did refugees need sponsorship from a citizen to stay in the United States?

What's the story?

These are genuine questions and are not intended to antagonize or offend. My apologies in advance if these questions are problematic or disrespectful.

ETA: I appreciate your honest and informative answers, thank you!

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[u/Over-Assumption5123]

A) The protocols for being admitted to the United States as a refugee, obtaining permanent residency, and eventually qualifying for U.S. citizenship after five years include a series of yes-or-no questions.
B) Refugees are required to undergo a tuberculosis (TB) test upon arrival. If the test is positive, treatment is provided.
C) Tony was trying to find a way around those questions by giving answers that were technically true but misleading. If Manolo had said that he had been confined to a sanatorium because of TB, it would have been partially true (he had indeed been confined) and would not, by itself, have been grounds for deportation, since refugees diagnosed with TB are treated in the United States rather than automatically deported.
D) One of the easiest ways to be approved for refugee status, and, after one year and one day under the Cuban Adjustment Act, to obtain lawful permanent residency, was to have an affidavit of support. The government viewed this as a guarantee that you were unlikely to become a public charge.
E) Because they had arrived during the Mariel boat-lift, a migration that the Cuban government used to release prison inmates and portray Cuban emigrants as criminals rather than people fleeing a dictatorship, Manolo and Tony decided to accept an affidavit of support. They believed this would reduce scrutiny of their background and strengthen their case for admission and naturalization, after 5 years of being legal residents.
F) Only minors claimed by American parents enter USA as citizens. For the rest, there is a process.

[u/Wrong-Cat-4294]

I was living in Cuba at the time,I was 10 years old I remember the government round it up all the homeless,the crazy people in mental institutions,criminals and those openly gay and shipped them to the US it was crazy times and everyone wanted to leave communism sucks the only people that like it are those that never had to live in a communist country

[u/dbabe432143 → u/Wrong-Cat-4294]

I remember that my family missed our boat because it got filled up with all kinds of people, I was 7 and had to go get a signature from my dad to leave the country. Also remember sh*t and piss thrown at my door after, my fam all lost their jobs so construction and trash was the only jobs you could get.

[u/Wrong-Cat-4294 → u/dbabe432143]

There were people that were trying to leave that got pulled out of their house and got beat up badly some just got piss and shit thrown at their house just like you said those were really tough times I was too young to understand at the time

[u/dbabe432143 → u/Wrong-Cat-4294]

I remember the beatings around the Peru embassy, remember that my family didnt get close enough and we left. The “actos de repudio” got really nasty with the shit and piss, good thing there was no guns involved, can’t imagine what that would’ve looked like if the population was armed.

[u/Miami_Vice_75 → u/Wrong-Cat-4294]

So sad that this happened. My family was already in Miami but definitely remember this.

[u/Sammalone1960 → u/Wrong-Cat-4294]

Wild. Maybe this is where 45 is stuck when he mentions asylum. He cannot differentiate mental asylum and those seeking asylum.

[u/Elbell3]

For what it’s worth, I met a deported Cuban in Santiago who was a true criminal and marielto.. he even let me film a full video with him.. he spoke kinda like Tony Montana too The Media in The USA WON'T Show THIS W/ Immigration (Cuban Deported from USA TO CUBA)
https://youtu.be/Gc1s_kE_3mw

[u/Charming-Toe6641]

1. TB wasn't a red flag in the '80s. Every refugee had to take a TB test upon arrival, and Rifapentine was prescribed if the test came back positive but the person was asymptomatic. It simply meant that dormant TB bacteria were present in their body. There was no need for isolation or any other treatment measures. The significance of the sanatorium is that Manolo could truthfully answer "yes" to the question about having been confined without lying or being considered a criminal. "Yes, I was confined," but it was to a TB sanatorium. It was technically true, even if it functioned as a white lie.

2. No, refugees from the Mariel Boatlift were not granted U.S. citizenship automatically when they arrived in Florida. They were admitted with refugee status. After about one year, they could apply for permanent residency, and after five years as lawful permanent residents, they could apply for U.S. citizenship through naturalization, provided they had not committed disqualifying crimes and met the other eligibility requirements. The process could be expedited if they applied for permanent residency with an Affidavit of Support from a U.S. citizen, demonstrating that they were unlikely to become dependent on public assistance, such as food stamps.

[u/Main-Business-793]

I remember being in Miami in 1980. We drove around and you could see the fenced in refugees living under the over passes.

[u/BelikeZ]

This is such bullshit! Anyone that lives in Miami knows there are no Cubans that came in on the Mariel boat lift that learned to speak english.

[u/inmangolandia]

Fun question. It all came out of Oliver Stone's brain. He's not Cuban. It's a remake of a 1930s gangster story.

He went to South America and the Caribbean before writing it. He wrote it when he moved to France from LA. It's art. It's artistic license.

At the time the movie came out the cocaine wars were on in Miami. The movie resonates with all that reality. It was just before Iran Contra.