of 1980 bringing 125,000 refugees. Thousands more fled the Sandinista reign in Nicaragua, with a massive influx in 1988 and 1989. The result has been a strain on Florida's already overtaxed social services (DeGeorge 48A, 48E).
In many ways, the period of the Mariel boatlift was also a period of attitudinal change in Florida. The Cuban refugees prior to that time had been largely welcomed, and their anti-Castro stance fit with that of the people of Florida. Many of the refugees brought in 1980 on the Mariel boatlift were Cuban criminals, however, and this contributed to a shift in public perception. Castro at the time made the following statement:
Those that are leaving from Mariel are the scum of the country--antisocials, homosexuals, drug addicts, and gamblers, who are welcome to leave Cuba if any country will have them (Portes and Stepick 21).
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