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Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after Cuban State television announced the death of former dictator Fidel Castro over the past weekend:
“The death of Fidel Castro signals a new hope for the Cuban people who suffered under one of the most brutal dictatorships in modern history. However, until all remnants of the Castro regime are removed from power, Cuba will never be free. I join many of my Congressional colleagues in calling on President-elect Donald Trump to undo President Obama’s misguided executive actions on Cuba.
“Additionally, the end of Fidel Castro should signal the end of the Cuban Adjustment Act and the end of the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy. These outdated amnesty programs cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars and provide Cuban nationals with an unfair benefit not available to any other country in the world. Further, Congress should immediately act and pass my commonsense legislation, the Ending Special National Origin-Based Immigration Programs for Cubans Act, in order to prevent such abuse from future administrations.”
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 can be found HERE.
The bill is endorsed by: Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and NumbersUSA.
Earlier this year, Congressman Gosar penned an op-ed for Conservative Review titled “Ending Instant Amnesty for Cubans”. The full op-ed can be found HERE.
The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel published a series of investigative articles exposing billions of dollars of waste at the expense of U.S. taxpayers as a result of Cuban immigration fraud. Click on the respective link to read each article: End The Fraud In Cuban Immigration; Cubans Retire To Florida – With Help From U.S. Taxpayers; U.S. Welfare Flows To Cuba.
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 unilaterally 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.
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