WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that the U.S. is ending a longstanding policy that granted residency to Cubans who arrived in the U.S. without visas.

Known as "wet-foot/dry-foot" policy, the special U.S. immigration policy for Cuba has been in place for more than 20 years.

"By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries," Obama said in a statement.