Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama is ending the longstanding "wet foot, dry foot" policy that allows Cubans who arrive in the United States without a visa to become permanent residents, the administration announced Thursday. The move, which wasn't previously outlined and is likely one of the final foreign policy decisions of Obama's term, terminates a decades-long policy that many argued amounted to preferential treatment for a single group of migrants. "By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries," Obama wrote in a statement Thursday. "The United States, a land of immigrants, has been enriched by the contributions of Cuban-Americans for more than a century," he continued. "Since I took office, we have put the Cuban-American community at the center of our policies. With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws."Havana has argued the policy encourages Cubans to make the dangerous trip to the USThe decision was likely Obama's last move in his historic dealings with Cuba
DHS is also eliminating an exemption that previously prevented the use of expedited removal proceedings for _ nationals apprehended at ports of entry or near the border. The number of _ migrants entering the US had doubled from 2014 to 2015, when relations were reestablished.