Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, along with Representatives Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar, have sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, raising concerns over recent reports that individuals linked to Cuba’s regime have been permitted entry and residency in the U.S.
The lawmakers are calling for a review of entry procedures and the immediate removal of any Cuban regime members currently residing in the country. U.S. law prohibits entry to individuals with affiliations to Communist parties, which should apply to former Cuban officials implicated in human rights abuses.
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In their letter, the lawmakers emphasized, “The United States must ensure that former Cuban regime members involved in the oppression of innocent Cuban citizens or the persecution of Cuban-Americans are not welcome in our country. Those found to have concerning backgrounds after arrival should not be allowed to remain… We urge the administration to be transparent by publicly outlining vetting procedures and standards for these immigration decisions.”
The letter references specific cases, including Cuban Revolutionary Air Force Colonel Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, linked to the 1996 downing of two humanitarian planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, resulting in the deaths of four Cuban-American pilots.
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Another instance involves Manuel Menendez Castellanos, a former high-ranking Communist Party official accused of oppressing Cuban citizens. The lawmakers argue these cases reveal critical failures in the vetting process, undermining confidence in the administration’s ability to prevent potential threats from entering the country.
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