by Emily Chow
on December 16, 2011
So there is no suspense, you did it! Through your calls and emails, forwarding of the action alert, and commitment to retaining unrestricted travel to Cuba for families, the Diaz-Balart policy rider has been removed. President Obama’s regulations allowing the reunification of Cuban families stands firm—and without government interference.
DC wouldn’t be what it is without power struggles, complicated and indiscernible Hill jargon and impending government shutdowns. But what we have never witnessed before in the nation’s capitol is a hold placed on the funding of the entire U.S. government over the right for Cuban-American families to travel and see their relatives in Cuba. Here’s what happened:
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by LAWG Cuba Team and our Partners from WOLA
on December 13, 2011
This summer, conservative House of Representatives Republicans, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, proposed rolling back President Obama’s executive order that allows Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba to visit their relatives without any restrictions. In response, President Obama threatened to veto any legislation that imposed limits on Cuban-Americans’ right to travel freely to visit their families. He is aware that this is an important issue about family values and that it is very important to Cuban-American families in Florida, New Jersey, and across the country.
Today, we have learned that House of Representative Republicans are about to succeed with their punitive campaign against Cuban-American families. They are including rollback language in the “Megabus” appropriations bill now being finalized in the Congress that would prevent Cuban Americans from visiting their relatives more often than once every three years and would limit the remittances they can send. President Obama needs to live up to his promise and say “no” to these efforts to once again divide Cuban families. He must insist that he will not sign this bill if the family travel provision is not removed.
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by Emily Chow
on December 16, 2011
In the spirit of the holidays, Cuban-American members of Congress are at it again with their Grinch-like tactics. Rolled into a spending “Megabus” bill that is being pushed through Congress is language that would restrict family travel to Cuba for Cuban Americans to once every three years, no exceptions. However, not only does this amendment, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, separate families, it also redefines what constitutes a family circle. Cuban Americans, TAKE NOTE: What this means is that your cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, etc., will no longer qualify as "family." As one of our Cuban-American friends said, “The very idea that some U.S. entity is going to tell a Cuban who is your family and who is not is something so beyond the pale that it might suffice to turn water into wine . . ."
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by Katherine Trujillo
on December 09, 2011
Last week, the Latin America Working Group partnered with the Center for International Policy to host a conference examining Cuba’s placement on the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Along with Mavis Anderson from LAWG, speakers included renowned Cuba experts Wayne Smith (Center for International Policy), Robert Muse (Muse and Associates), Carlos Alzugaray (University of Havana), Sarah Stephens (Center for Democracy in the Americas), and Arturo Lopez-Levy (University of Denver). Each panelist spoke critically of this designation, which has served to hurt Cubans rather than affect political changes in Cuba, or combat real terrorist threats.
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by Emily Chow
on December 15, 2011
Congressman José Serrano (NY-16) issued a statement today saying he was "shocked and apalled" at the "heartless approach" by House Republicans to shut down all family travel to Cuba during the holiday season (read full press release below). Rolled into a spending “Megabus” bill that is being pushed through Congress is language that would restrict family travel to Cuba for Cuban Americans to once every three years, no exceptions. However, not only does this amendment, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, separate families, it also redefines what constitutes a family circle, limiting the definition to immediate family only.
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by Emily Chow
on November 29, 2011
Last night on "Strategy Session with Antonio Gonzalez" on 90.7 KPFK, LAWG's Senior Associate, Mavis Anderson, discussed the current political reality of U.S. policy towards Cuba. While there are some who will criticize President Obama's slow movement in changing our outdated Cuba policy, "kudos should be given where kudos are due," says Anderson. Obama has made some of the changes available to him under executive authority in permitting Cuban Americans to travel freely back and forth to the island, liberalizing the travel licensing process, and also issuing a veto threat if any legislation is proposed in Congress that aims at repealing his positive changes.
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