Big news! We now have legislation in the House of Representatives calling for an end to the travel ban on Cuba for all Americans. "Travel for All" instead of "Travel for None" or even "Travel for Some." Take action now: ask your representative to co-sponsor H.R. 874.

Have you met or spoken with your Congressperson or his/her staff about Cuba recently? If you have report to us about the meeting so we can keep a record. 

 Below find a pdf and a word document of our standard questionnaire. You can e-mail, fax, or mail it to us.

  

The Cuba Travel Ban: A Background

Most U.S. citizens are legally prohibited from traveling to Cuba.

Restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba are based on legislation granting the President statutory authority to regulate spending by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction in a foreign country during a national emergency or time of war.  Cuba is the only country in the world to which the United States government bans travel by its citizens.

See  U.S.-Cuba Policy in the 111th Congress (PDF)

 

This is an exciting time to be active in our country's decision making process. There are certainly no shortage of opportunities to get involved in responding to our new President's call to "…pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

This is an exciting time to be active in our country's decision-making process. There are certainly no shortage of opportunities to get involved in responding to our new President's call to "…pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

We need your support to turn these opportunities for remaking America's Cuba policy into real change. As you probably know, to end the travel ban on Cuba, Congress must act. This is something they were hesitant to do under the veto threats of the Bush Administration. Now, change has come to Washington, DC, and our allies in Congress are ready to act. Legislation calling for an end to the travel ban for ALL Americans will pass in Congress if we demand it.

We are reaching out to you because we need your representative to support this legislation.

DELIVER A PACKET: Our partners at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) will be sending every member of the 111th Congress (including the 58 new members of the House) a Cuba Policy Packet (a folder of educational materials about why the United States must end the travel ban to Cuba for all Americans). We want YOU to deliver this packet personally to your congressperson!

JOIN A DELEGATION: We need to show our policymakers that their constituents care about this issue. Are you willing to join a group of your community members in a meeting with your congressional office in the local district office? Your representative will be home for a district work week in February; and we would like to organize, with you and a few other constituents, a meeting with him or her in the district office. February 16 - 20 is the Congressional District Work Week.  We need to move fast to get on your representative's schedule. Contact us today to participate in and help organize a visit to your congressperson's office!  Call or e-mail Angelica Salazar:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (202)797-2171.  Or write back to us at LAWG, and we'll connect you with Angelica, the organizer of this project.

CALL ANGELICA: We are geared up for a truly grassroots campaign to end the travel ban. We are pouring our efforts and resources into helping you establish a relationship with your member of Congress on Cuba issues. Call or e-mail Angelica today: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or 202-797-2171. LAWG, WOLA, and other Cuba policy partners are working around the clock here in Washington, but it will be you and your community that will make the difference in gaining the congressional support we need to change U.S. policy. 

We look forward to hearing from you! Our work remaking America starts now!

Call or e-mail Angelica Salazar: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (202)797-2171
Call your member of Congress: (202)224-3121. E-mail your member of Congress: www.house.gov

111th Congress - New Member Contact Information

Invitation to Cuba Consultation 2009, March 5 and 6, in Washington DC

 

Registration deadline has passed. Please contact Paulo Gusmao at pgusmao @ lawg.org or 202.546.7010 if you have any questions.

To fax or mail the registration form click here (DOC) or here (PDF).

A representative group of the Cuba Steering Committee (an ad hoc working group of more than two dozen organizations and individuals active on Cuba policy issues ) invites you to participate in this year's Cuba Consultation day. 

Since 1995, there have been more than a dozen "Cuba Consultations,"  events at which a broad spectrum of individuals and groups who support change in U.S. policy toward Cuba have gathered together to share points of view and get a sense of the challenges and opportunities that confront us in the Congress, with the administration, and in public opinion.

The consultation is an opportunity for people who care about Cuba and changing U.S. policy to come together to discuss an issue which unites all sectors - travel. From academics to farmers, Cuban Americans to religious organizations, and from travel service providers to performing artists to curious citizens, everyone is suffering under U.S. restrictions.

In recent years, the Cuba Consultation focused attention on the situation in the U.S. Congress, and   the possibilities of legislative action. This year we are presented with our best opportunity in years to press for a transformational shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba: the greatest possible reduction in U.S. economic sanctions, including the travel restrictions that block citizen contact, and more diplomatic engagement with Cuba.

A key part of this will be efforts to achieve bold action by the Congress to end the ban on travel to Cuba for all Americans. In the House of Representatives, legislation to end the travel ban has already been introduced, HR 874. At the consultation, we will talk about how to work with and move the Congress on the travel issue.

A new administration has come to Washington, and a new environment exists. A review of U.S.-Cuba policy is currently underway in the administration, and anticipation is high that the President will issue an executive order in the coming weeks. Ending the ban on travel for Cuban Americans is a good first step, but only a first step. Our message must be loud and clear. Congress must act to allow travel for all. This is an exciting and strategic moment to make our voices heard. 

We encourage you to register for the consultation (see below) and begin now making appointments with your members of Congress for Friday, March 6. Congress is in session that day and will be holding votes. Your members will be in Washington, so ask for a moment of their time, in addition to meeting with their Foreign Policy Aides. We can help you with phone numbers, staff names, etc., if you ask. We will also provide a "How to" session, with coffee and bagels, the morning of the 6th for those who want hints on how to conduct a meeting with staff and members.

(As you plan your travel, you might keep in mind that in previous years the Cuban Interests Section has sometimes hosted its own event during or right after the consultation. We anticipate that they might host a reception on the evening of the 6th after the close of our consultation. This has not yet been confirmed, but we want you to be aware of this possibility when you make your travel plans.) 

The Cuba Consultation 2009 registration fee is a modest $40 per person, to help us cover lunch, materials, venue, etc. There is a space on the registration form for your credit card information, or you may write a check to LAWG to attach to your snail mail registration or to give us upon arrival at the consultation. If you have any further questions, contact Paulo Gusmao/LAWG, 202.546.7010, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or Lilia Lopez/WOLA, 202.797.2171, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Cuba Consultation will take place at Trinity University in Washington DC. The address is 125 Michigan Ave, NE, Washington DC 20017. For a map and directions click here.  

For a brief hotel guide click here (DOC).

*Geoff Thale, Lilia Lopez, Angelica Salazar, and Ashley Morse  - Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
*Mavis Anderson and Paulo Gusmao - Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
*Wayne Smith - Center for International Policy (CIP)
*Joe Perez - Cuba Travel Services
*Bob Guild - Marazul Charters, Inc.
*Silvia Wilhelm - Puentes Cubanos
*Sandra Levinson - Center for Cuban Studies
*Randy Poindexter - FOCUS (Friends of Cuba)
*Kirsten Moller - Global Exchange
*Sarah Stephens and Collin Laverty - Center for Democracy in the Americas
*Delvis Fernandez and Luis Rumbaut - Cuban American Alliance Education Fund (CAAEF)
*Melinda St. Louis - Witness for Peace
*Jan Strout - U.S. Women & Cuba Collaboration 
*Cindy Domingo - Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
*Lisa Valanti - US-CUBA Sister Cities Association
*John McAuliff - Fund for Reconciliation and Development
*Jim Vondracek, Gary Cozette, Marilyn McKenna, and Danielle Wegman - Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)
*Louis Head - U.S.-Cuba Cultural Exchange
*Marty Shupack - Church World Service
*Ricardo Gonzalez - Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association
*Bob Schwartz - Disarm Education Fund
*Sandra Edhlund - Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba
*Tony Zamora and Elena Freyre - ForNorm
*Marjorie Cohn and Art Heitzer - National Lawyer's Guild 

Now that a new President and a new Congress have been elected, you can take action that will help change U.S. policy toward Cuba.

November 4th marked an historical change for the United States of America. President-elect Barack Obama represents CHANGE on many levels, and many people expect CHANGE in a great many things: the economy, two wars, a planet in peril, etc . . . you know the list by now.

Love, Loss, and Longing: The Impact of U.S. Travel Policies on Cuban-American Families (see the publication here) continues to raise awareness about the ban on travel to Cuba. Between March and November, 2008, LAWG Education Fund and the Washington Office on Latin America conducted educational sessions on ending the travel ban and showcased our publication in states as widespread as Virginia, Wisconsin, Massachusetts (two cities), Ohio (three cities), and California (four cities). We appeared on two cable television networks and several radio programs. The book is an extraordinary education and advocacy tool that connects your heart with your understanding of the false rationale behind the travel ban.

Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested in setting up a forum and book party in your community. Listen to an interview on Pacifica Radio with Mavis Anderson and author Dr. Jeanne Lemkau from a recent book tour in California here

We are hopeful that, under a new administration, compassion will win out and the ban on family travel and remittances will quickly end. Then our task remains to re-claim the right of all Americans to travel freely to Cuba to engage with our Cuban neighbors. Help us in this task by signing up for Cuba policy e-mail alerts.