Curbelo: Focus on The Cuban Adjustment Act's Abusers
By U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) in The Miami Herald:
Keep the Cuban Adjustment Act, but clamp down on its abusers
In 1965, one year before signing the Cuban Adjustment Act into law, President Lyndon Johnson said, “I declare this afternoon to the people of Cuba that those who seek refuge here in America will find it. The dedication of America to our traditions as an asylum for the oppressed is going to be upheld.”
Clearly, the spirit of the Act was to assist Cubans who had to flee their homeland and could not return for fear of persecution.
However, unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status. In no other instance are refugees or asylees allowed to return to the country they claim is persecuting them without fundamental political change in that country occurring first, or before becoming U.S. citizens.
Keep the Cuban Adjustment Act, but clamp down on its abusers
In 1965, one year before signing the Cuban Adjustment Act into law, President Lyndon Johnson said, “I declare this afternoon to the people of Cuba that those who seek refuge here in America will find it. The dedication of America to our traditions as an asylum for the oppressed is going to be upheld.”
Clearly, the spirit of the Act was to assist Cubans who had to flee their homeland and could not return for fear of persecution.
However, unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status. In no other instance are refugees or asylees allowed to return to the country they claim is persecuting them without fundamental political change in that country occurring first, or before becoming U.S. citizens.
