Public Opinion
Despite President Carter’s acceptance of Cuban refugees with “open arms and open hearts,” that sentiment was not felt everywhere. In Fort Smith, where Fort Chaffee was located, did not take particularly well to Carter’s welcomeness. Many of the citizens were concerned due factory layoffs throughout the town. The citizens worried that there was a potential for a competitive labor market. One woman from Fort Smith that picketed outside Fort Chaffee told the New York Times that she felt compassion for them but “there’s children here who need food, and men and women needing jobs, and Arkansas doesn’t have them.” At the protest she held a sign that read “What are they going to do now–relocate us Americans?” The skepticism stemmed from a promise that refugees from southeast Asia would be resettled, and those individuals were not relocated.
Castro’s speech stigmatized those who came to the United States by saying they were criminals, mentally ill, and gay caused issues for the refugees once they arrived from Cuba, especially when resettling. At Fort Chaffee in particular, the first 128 Cubans that arrived on a plane were met by a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He told the officials not to let the Cubans in because they were “hoodlums” that were going to get on welfare and “get a free ride for everything.” On May 29, 1980 around 200 Cubans walked away from Fort Chaffee and into the local community called Jenny Lind. Many residents climbed on their roof and fired shots at the refugees. Members of the KKK also appeared on the highway holding signs that read “We Do Not Support Communist Criminals.” Other residents of Jenny Lind and Barling even openly discussed killing the refugees.
Overall, the reaction to the Cuban refugees with the local public was overwhelmingly negative, especially after the riot at Fort Chaffee on May 31, 1980. When they pushed through the gates and began walking through the community of Barling, Arkansas they were once again met with threats of violence from the local population and the KKK.