Bernardo Vega, former DR ambassador to the United States, said that the US government decision to grant only 20,387 migrant visas in 1998, down from 51,000 in 1994, is one of the factors motivating an increase in the illegal boat trips to Puerto Rico. He explained that new migration law provisions passed in 1996 oblige petitioners of relatives to prove they can support their relatives. He spoke during the Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarrollo seminar on the Bush Administration?s focus in Latin America.
