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In 1981, Alcatraz was one of 14 sites considered by the Reagan administration to hold up to 20,000 refugees who had fled from Cuba to Florida in the famous "Mariel Boatlift".

But what he could do is make an affirmative case to the American people about why Venezuelans in particular need protection and how they can benefit local economies under the right circumstances, and then link them to well-regarded past efforts to welcome large numbers of people fleeing ideologically hostile regimes, such as the Mariel boatlift that brought more than 125,000 Cubans to the United States in 1980.

The term later was used to denigrate Cubans who sought to flee the country during the short Camarioca boatlift of 1965 and on the ensuing Freedom Flights that brought 250,000 Cubans, including my family, to Miami through 1971.

And who doesn’t remember Castro demonizing Cubans fleeing on the Mariel boatlift as escoria — scum — slander that carried into early exile?

Another formative experience was watching protesters target colonial buildings during the turmoil of the Mariel boatlift, a massive migration of Cubans to Florida in 1980.