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LAREDO MORNING TIMES: Cuellar introduces bill that would end special benefits for Cuban immigrants
Washington,
March 23, 2016
Cuellar introduces bill that would end special benefits for Cuban immigrants Just one day after President Barack Obama met with Cuban President Raul Castro on his home turf, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, introduced an act in Congress that would strip Cubans of their special treatment upon entering the U.S. The Correcting Unfair Benefits for Aliens (CUBA) Act, co-written by Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, is meant to ensure that Cubans are held to the same immigration standards as citizens of other countries. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were formally re-established in July. Cubans crossing into the country, oftentimes through Laredo, are ensured a safe, legal and orderly immigration through a policy written in 1966, the Cuban Adjustment Act. According to the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuban immigrants are provided housing and other relocation assistance for up to 90 days after their arrival in the United States. Cuellar's comments "The preferential immigration status and benefits we bestow on Cuban migrants, through the Cuban Adjustment Act, the Refugee Education Assistance Act and the wet foot/dry foot policy, are relics of a bygone era and a cold war that has long since passed," Cuellar said. "With the president’s historic visit to the country this week as well as the normalization of relations, we shouldn’t lose sight of the thousands of people from regions like Central America who are fleeing serious threats from drug violence and face a disadvantage when compared with Cubans." Cuellar said this is in an effort to "level the playing field" for all those who want to enter the country. "The need remains for comprehensive immigration reform, but in the meantime, we shouldn’t be handing out special status and benefits for a select group,” Cuellar said. Cubans in Laredo According to an article published Tuesday in the Texas Tribune, in the last five months more than 18,500 Cubans have arrived at the Laredo field office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes ports from Del Rio to Brownsville. In January, veterans in Laredo protested the special benefits that Cubans receive upon entering the country. The protesters held signs reading “veterans first, refugees last,” and said the federal government treats Cuban immigrants better than it does U.S. veterans. “We have right here in Laredo veterans who are homeless, who are waiting, who have been battling the VA system for years and years,” said Gabriel Lopez, president of the South Texas Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans Association. |