U.S. Rep. David Rivera said Tuesday he wants to sanction Cuban Americans who return to the island less than five years after they left, alleging that they are abusing a loophole in the Cuban Adjustment Act and helping the country’s communist system.
The South Florida Republican submitted a bill on Aug. 1 to deal with the growing complaint that Cubans benefit from the CAA as refuge-seekers but then return to the island just to visit relatives or even to vacation.
Approved in 1966 for the tens of thousands of Cubans who were fleeing the communist government at the height of the Cold War, the CAA offers U.S. residency 366 days after arrival and other benefits. Citizens of no other country receive such benefits.
“The original intent of the CAA was to provide status to Cuban refugees because they were not able to return to Cuba,” Rivera told El Nuevo Herald. “That political situation remains the same today, with a communist totalitarian dictatorship in power.”
“We have to do something about those who avail themselves of an act designed to protect them from persecution and then travel back to the persecuting country in an obvious abuse of the law,” he added.
Criticism of the CAA has been building in recent years around the United States and even among South Florida’s older Cuban exile community, as growing numbers of Cuban arrivals argue that they left the island for economic rather than political reasons.
More from Juan O. Tamayo here.
Here's a simple fix - the Cuban Adjustment Act and Wet Foot-Dry Foot should be repealed.
Cubans should not get special treatment. They need to be treated like every other immigrant group.
Posted by: Treat all immigrants equally | August 17, 2011 at 07:41 PM
If he wants to spend all his time seeking revenge on Cuba and restricting people's freedom, David Revera should go to the island himself and try to become a member of the Cuban National Assembly. The U. S. has problems not related to Cuba and the U. S. Congress does not need anymore monolithic Cuban Americans!
Posted by: Rich Haney | August 18, 2011 at 12:16 AM
Congratulating mr Rivera
Posted by: Carlos | August 18, 2011 at 08:15 AM
Why should Cubans have a special designation....it happened because the US govt was upset they couldn't overthrow Castro...
Instead we have turned Miami into a mini Cuba and the result is they are now trying to tell us how to run FL......
Now is the time to act like adults and repeal the CAA.
Posted by: George Fuller | August 18, 2011 at 08:18 AM
If you read "History" will find out that since 1898 Cuba relation with the U.S.A. in politics, economics, etc., was important.
My brother spent since 1962, ten years of "political prision" in the "RED CUBA".
As a Cuban-American, I came to the USA in 1964, founded a family in Miami and obtained my Bachelor Degree on FIU. Anything we had was because our work, we did not receive any economic help at all from the USA taxpayers at that time.
I do not understand, why we all currently now have to pay our brothers to come here with our taxes, to later on a year, allow them to bring money back to the Cuba Regim.
We brought our families on the 60's & 70's with our own money.
ABAJO LOS CASTROS - TRAIDORES
Posted by: Carlos | August 20, 2011 at 06:30 AM
I Can't believe anybody can fall for this. Rivera will talk about anything, could be as well Martians or killer whales to divert attention to what really happens...he is a criminal under investigation and his day in congress are numbered...don't care really what he says. And whoever engages him in any issue is playing his game...
Posted by: Rosanna malbran | August 21, 2011 at 03:07 PM