Jimmy Carter in Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton

On Foreign Policy: 1980: Broke promise of no more refugees to Fort Chaffee

Jimmy Carter's Presidency was beset by problems. Some of those troubles spilled over into Arkansas in spring 1980, when hundreds of detained Cuban refugees--mostly inmates from prisons and mental hospitals whom Castro released to the US in the infamous Mariel boat lift--were sent to a "resettlement camp" at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. In late May, the refugees rioted and hundreds broke out of the fort.

Bill sent state troopers. Bill wanted federal assistance to contain the detainees, but the White House message seemed to be: "Don't complain, just handle the mess we gave you." Bill had done just that, but there was a big political price to pay for supporting his President.

After the June riots, President Carter had promised Bill that no more Cubans would be sent to Arkansas. In August, the White House broke that promise, closing sites in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and sending more refugees to Fort Chaffee. That reversal further undermined support for Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in Arkansas.

Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p. 88-89 Nov 1, 2003

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