About this episode

This episode discusses the Mariel Boatlift and its impact on immigration discourse in America.

For the twenty-second installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to Miami, Florida in the spring and summer of 1980. With the Cuban economy in crisis and many Cubans trying to flee the country, Fidel Castro declared that anyone who wanted to escape was free to do so -- as long as they were picked up by a boat from Florida. The ensuing flood of refugees -- and the language that was used to describe them -- set the modern template for how we treat and talk about immigrants. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now . This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypod Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua…

More episodes of This Day (An America 250 History Show)

• After Watergate: The Backslide (Part 2) · June 11, 2026 · 40 min
• After Watergate: Reforming Government (Part 1) · June 9, 2026 · 32 min
• A Nation Of Readers: Isabel Wilkerson + Tara Westover · June 7, 2026 · 52 min
• Mariel Boatlift: The Anti-Immigrant Playbook (Part 1) · June 4, 2026 · 32 min
• Reckoning With Racial Violence (Some Sunay Context) · May 31, 2026 · 24 min
• Tulsa Massacre: Erasure (Part 2) · May 28, 2026 · 41 min

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