Marco Rubio Proposes Cuban-American Welfare Crackdown, Opposes Entrance Of 8,000 Cubanos From Costa
Marco Rubio Proposes Cuban-American Welfare Crackdown, Opposes Entrance Of 8,000 Cubanos From Costa Rica
By Cedar Attanasio | Jan 08 2016, 04:10PM EST
Around one million Cuban immigrants came to America thanks to the open-door border policy opened by the 1966 with Cuban Adjustment Act. Almost 50 years later, America’s first viable Cuban-American presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is considering closing that door. In a press conference at the American Society of News Editors this week, Rubio said that he would “re-examine” the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy that gives Cuban migrants a blank check on asylum claims, green cards, and federal benefits.
"I don't criticize anyone who wants to go visit their mom or dad or their dying brother or sister in Cuba," Rubio told reporters. "But I am telling you it gets very difficult to justify someone's status as an exile and refugee when a year and a half after they get here they are flying back to that country over and over again."
Rubio has voiced concern over the Cuban Adjustment Act before, but it is the first time that he’s elevated the issue during his presidential campaign. A son of Cuban immigrants (who were not asylum-seekers), Rubio has walked a delicate line throughout his campaign. On one hand, he holds up his story as a the epitome of the American Dream, while promoting policies that would snuff out the aspirations of many migrants.
The senator also announced that he will introduce a bill in the Senate next week that would curb federal assistance to Cuban migrants admitted under the act such as food stamps and Medicaid, according to the Miami Herald. "We have people living in Cuba off Social Security benefits. They never worked here," Rubio said at a campaign stop in Bedford, New Hampshire. "This is an outrageous abuse, and I have a law that we are going to introduce this week that shuts down this issue. It's wrong."
More:
http://www.latintimes.com/marco-rubio-proposes-cuban-american-welfare-crackdown-opposes-entrance-8000-cubanos-363157
LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141307948