Congressman David Rivera (R-FL) recently proposed changes to the Cuban Adjustment Act to prevent Cuban nationals from receiving residency through the Act and then returning to visit Cuba. In a statement on the matter, Rep. Rivera says:
The fact that Cubans avail themselves of the Cuban Adjustment Act citing political persecution, and then quickly travel back to the persecuting country, is a clear and blatant abuse of the law. In fact it is outright fraud being perpetrated on the people and government of the United States. If Cubans are able to travel back to the communist dictatorship then they should not have received the residency benefits associated with the Cuban Adjustment Act and they should lose that benefit immediately. My legislation simply says that any Cuban national who receives political asylum and residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act, and travels to Cuba while still a resident, will have their residency status revoked.
Mr. Rivera states that his intent is to reform the CAA in order to save this important benefit for future generations of Cubans.
It is interesting that a politician from Florida–particularly one with the anti-Castro bona fides of Mr. Rivera–would have the chutzpa to challenge the Cuban American community on this issue. It doesn’t strike me as a particularly wise move politically, even if it makes sense from a policy point of view.
Although I am generally pro-asylum, I have long believed that the CAA should be abolished. The fact that (presumably) many Cubans are returning to the home island for a visit after they receive status in the U.S. just confirms the absurdity of this law. Clearly, all the Cubans taking advantage of the CAA are not refugees in the normal sense of the word. If a Cuban person reaches our shores, he should apply for asylum like everyone else. If he demonstrates a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or particular social group, he should receive asylum. Otherwise, he should be removed from the United States. Mr. Rivera’s proposed reform–which is ostensibly to help preserve the CAA–seems pointless given that the law is simply not worth preserving.
Indeed, the only real justification for the CAA that seems remotely reasonable is that it gives us a propaganda win over Cuba since it demonstrates that lots of Cubans would rather live here than there. Aside from the fact that our country has been enriched by large numbers of Cuban migrants, I don’t see what this propaganda victory has achieved. The CAA was passed in 1966 and–45 years later–the Castro brothers are still in charge.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a pro-immigrant Congresswoman from California, opposes the proposed change to the CAA:
“No matter what the reason for stepping foot in Cuba, you lose your status,” Lofgren said. “If you go to visit family members you haven’t seen in years, you lose your status. If you go to attend a funeral or donate a kidney to a dying relative, you lose your status. If you go to meet with Cuban dissidents with the aim of transitioning Cuba to a democracy, you lose your status.”
Welcome to the world of refugees from every country other than Cuba. Asylum seekers and refugees who return to their home country for any reason, including donating a kidney, risk losing their status in the United States. Again, while I favor offering safe haven to people who need it, I certainly understand why the government would want to cancel a refugee’s immigration status if she returned to her home country. Of course there might be compelling reasons to return home, and so refugees and asylees who do so can sometimes retain their status. But given the limited resources of our asylum system, a presumption in favor of such people losing their status makes sense.
In any case, it seems Mr. Rivera’s proposal is not getting much traction. A more appropriate proposal would be to eliminate the CAA altogether and require Cubans who fear persecution to apply for asylum like everyone else.
[…] Florida Congressman moves to limit the Cuban Adjustment Act […]
[…] Florida Congressman moves to limit the Cuban Adjustment Act […]
with the problem now with these cubans landing on a light house
in the light house, and want to stay in the u.s. they will try any thing,
to stay here, All should be sent back to cuba packing, they want
special treatment and has gotten it. We need to put our foot down and
say NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!
This AAC which was supposed to take place only for a short time
has really ran its course . its time to close it. Seems like anything we did
for people of other countries, who got the better end of the stick? the
Cubans. it is time to stop THE WET FOOT DRY FOOT policy, it is only
for Cubans. and that is really BAD,
[…] have written before about my opposition to this law: In short, I believe that Cubans should apply for asylum in the […]
Most Cubans that float here to my home,the Fla.
Keys, are your basic thieves , rappist, murderers,
Uneducated thugs ! Where is the background check?
Why do they always get 22,000 a year federal aid?
They steal there and they steal here! Read the News!
I’m third generation S fla.USA citizen we were Greek
Imigrants.we supported the system,not deplete it!
The Cubans did not show up to fight at the bay of pigs
Cowards!
They just expect the US. To bail them out like always
That’s why the murderd president Kenedy!
You Cubans are arrogant,direspectful And have ruined
My State Of Fla!!
Peter,
Unfortunately, you share the common traits of many Cubans that your group is the only one entitled to have special treatment. Do you actually believe that Cubans suffered more than any other group in World history to have been singled out to get the ultimate privilege of being a U.S. Citizen? It’s no wonder every other Hispanic group dislikes Cubans for their arrogance. I agree with the above comments that your exclusion of other countries is basically unfair.
Not sure your following up on the “Balseros” that are being shunned by our exile community. The CAA needs to be retired or immigration policy to be fair across the board to include similar provisions in the CAA for countries like Syria, Afghanistan, parts of Africa etc.
Going back to Cubans, the CAA is not working and the quality of immigrants coming from Cuba today is shameful and the delinquents from Cuba are destroying our community. They are now voting Democrats! Come to Miami and see for yourself.
No Country should have a preference and all should be treated equally.
BTW, the refugees that come from Cuba seem to be healthy and well fed and most I have met with and done business with complain that the reason they left was purely economic, not political!
If your in Miami you know I’m right. If not, go to Calle Ocho and see what I am talking about.
asdf
Jason,
But those people can return to their countries without retaliation from their governments and upon return they find all their possessions and have equal rights and obligations that when they leave. Cubans, even those who have never been prosecuted, after leaving the country loose all their possessions, the right to buy goods, to use public services and to work.
Mikelle, I’ve started a petition to revoke the act on the White House website.
How can I be active in fighting against the Cuban Adjustment Act? Name and numbers anyone?
To both Jason and the (confused) Mikhail, it is obvious that neither of you is Cuban, so you wouldn’t have a clue what that means. To both of you I tell you, give up your US papers and go to live in Cuba as a Cuban; and THEN you will understand why there is a Cuban Adjustment Act. By the way, good luck trying to get out of there!
It is true that I am not Cuban. However, for the vast majority of people, conditions in Cuba are not nearly as bad as other places, such as Afghanistan, Somalia or Eritrea. People from those countries do not receive the same benefits as Cubans when they come here. This is what is unfair about the Cuban Adjustment Act.
When we address the issue of statelessness in the United States we have to take this issue very very seriously. Our Government does not seem to have taken the phenomenon of statelessness in our soil serious enough. Stateless persons living in limbo in the United States have been excluded from international human rights protection. Being stateless is equal of being a refugee. So, why stateless people in our country who spent years working, living, contributing to our economy much different from Cubans who are acknowledged as refugees as soon as they step onto US soil?
The Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), originally intended as a short-term destabilization program, was never expected to last for decades. But we still do accept Cubans and give them refugee status, asylum status, permanent residency and all benefits as soon as they enter our land. Do we really want a massive migration of Cubans to the USA? Apparently, yes as we stick to our plan of strangling the economy of Cuba in order to provoke massive unrest and let Cubans flee their island for protection in the United States. Cubans who seek more freedom, life without the blockade, the better income are allowed to enter US and gain path to US citizenship but those stateless people who found themselves in limbo where there is no currently escape, put their long years in the United States, contributed to the economy, studied, built their life, some of them were detained, released under order of supervision, forced to report to immigration authorities every three months, paid taxes, live normal civilized life with no criminal background are excluded from special protection, can be detained indefinitely, sent to some places they do not know, have their rights stripped are, are they so different from Cubans? How this can be justified? Is there a logic in this?
All Cubans who arrive to the US are refugees and law itself (CAA) does not require to provide the proof of being refugee, proof of past discrimination, proof of past human rights violation, proof of persecution and so on. They just have to step into the US soil and provide the proof that they are Cubans, and the green light is on. Between Cubans and US stateless residents (estimated 4,000 now) that is violation of stateless persons human rights. Cubans can declare political persecution as the reason of leaving their island but those stateless people who previously applied for political asylum in the United States but were not able to afford costly lawyers, literally being forced to represent themselves in the court in front of immigration judge without knowing any nuances or complexity of US immigration law and lost their cases and were denied asylum and eventually deported to nowhere as there is no country that would accept them, grant them legal status, protect them. They became nobody and left in limbo and forced to report to immigration authorities regularly where Cubans enjoy protection and full benefits and partial citizenship which eventually would lead to citizenship just because they are Cubans. Does this sound fair to you? Do you think this type of law is justifiable? It really does not click in my head.
As a stateless person myself who spent 16 years in the United States, sometimes I think that I would probably have been in better position if I was Latino, or maybe young undocumented and illegal person, or probably better dry-foot/wet-foot Cuban.