WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. released the following statement after President Obama began his three day visit of Cuba, the first time an American president has conducted an official visit since Calvin Coolidge in 1928, in response to unilaterally re-establishing diplomatic relations with the Castro-led nation:
Today, Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. released the following statement after President Obama began his three day visit of Cuba, the first time an American president has conducted an official visit since Calvin Coolidge in 1928, in response to unilaterally re-establishing diplomatic relations with the Castro-led nation:
“In President Obama’s meeting with Castro today, terminating the Wet Foot/ Dry Foot policy for Cuban immigrants and ending other outdated measures that provide amnesty should have been discussed. Despite going around Congress to unilaterally normalize relations with Cuba, the president can’t have it both ways. He can’t reward Cuba by re-establishing diplomatic relations while continuing to grant amnesty to Cubans.
“Cuban nationals should be treated under the same immigration rules as any other person seeking to immigrate to the United States and should not receive preferential treatment. As the president failed to negotiate the termination of these policies, Congress should quickly take up my legislation to end these unfair practices. It is far past time that we end amnesty policies that allow Cuban immigrants to cut to the front of the line and force U.S. taxpayers to foot their bills.”
Background
Congressman Gosar’s bill repeals the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, calls for termination of the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy and requires that all immigrants from Cuba are treated in the same manner as any other person seeking to immigrate to the United States.
The full bill text of H.R. 3818, the Ending Special National Origin-Based Immigration Programs for Cubans Act of 2015 can be found HERE. The bill is endorsed by: Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and NumbersUSA.
Last month, Congressman Gosar penned an op-ed for Conservative Review titled “Ending Instant Amnesty for Cubans”. The full op-ed can be found HERE.
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 initially allowed for “any native or citizen of Cuba” who had been “inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States subsequent to January 1, 1959” and who had been physically present in the United States for two years, to be lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
This law was later amended to change the physically present requirement to one year and Cuban immigrants are currently allowed to stay in this country to work and are also put on a path to citizenship. This is a luxury and benefit that no other country in the world enjoys, and given that the president has reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba, such actions are unwarranted and defy commonsense.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of this flawed immigration policy is that Cuba does not allow Cuban citizens convicted of crimes in the U.S. to be repatriated to Cuba. The Miami Sun-Sentinel reported that “Cubans are allowed to enter the United States without visas or background checks of their criminal histories in Cuba. Unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status, aiding crime rings that recruit accomplices and hide stolen money in Cuba...They also make it nearly impossible to deport criminals to Cuba after they serve their sentences in the U.S., as would be the case with criminals from most other countries.” As a result, the Cuban Adjustment Act has allowed Cuban thieves to rob American taxpayers of more than $2 billion, creating a “criminal pipeline” from the U.S. to Cuba.
