[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, a casual observer could be forgiven for 
being confused over American immigration policy toward Cuba. Yesterday 
afternoon, Attorney General Reno said administration policy was 
responding ``in an orderly way and without disruption'' to the recent 
increase in Cuban immigration. The Attorney General went on, ``We do 
not believe that this current influx has been a burden yet on the 
community.'' That was yesterday afternoon: no crisis, no panic, no 
emergency. Yet a few short hours later last night, the administration 
decided to prevent Cuban refugees from reaching the United States--
overturning three decades of American policy. I do not think the number 
of Cubans changed dramatically yesterday afternoon.
  If we are going to have the same refugee policy for Cuba as we do for 
Haiti, we should have the same foreign policy. That is the point I want 
to make. United States policy toward Haiti has been based on threats 
and saber rattling, but there has been silence on Cuba. Fidel Castro 
has done more to threaten American interests than any Haitian leader 
ever could. President Clinton should call on Fidel Castro to step down. 
Immediately, President Clinton should tell U.N. Ambassador Madeline 
Albright to seek international sanctions and isolate Cuba through the 
United Nations. And President Clinton should spend as much effort 
drawing lines in the sand about democratic change in Cuba as he has 
spent in threatening Haiti. We do not need to invade Haiti, and we do 
not need to invade Cuba. But we should care as much about democratic 
change in Cuba as we do about democratic change in Haiti. And, if the 
United States is going to interdict refugees leaving Cuba, maybe we 
should consider interdicting oil and fuel going into Cuba, as we do in 
Haiti.
  Mr. President, we all remember the Mariel disaster under President 
Jimmy Carter in 1980. We cannot and must not allow Fidel Castro to do 
the same under President Clinton. President Clinton should make it 
clear to Fidel Castro that sending the occupants of Cuban prisons, 
insane asylums and hospitals to Florida will be considered an act of 
aggression against the United States--and the United States will 
respond appropriately.
  Finally, we should all remember the refugee flow from Cuba is the 
symptom--not the cause--of an underlying problem. It is Fidel Castro's 
brutal dictatorship that is the root cause of Cuba's tragedy. The 
economy is a dismal failure and the political prisons are filled with 
thousands of inmates. Communism has failed in Cuba just as decisively 
as it failed in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It is only 
a matter of time before Cuba is forever freed from Fidel Castro's 
tyranny. Castro should not be allowed to use emigration to south 
Florida as a way to release pressure on his currupt and illegitimate 
regime.
  I hope when the President speaks to the American people today, he 
will address the real problems in Cuba--Castro's repressive regime. And 
I hope the President will announce a long-term plan to address 
democratic change in Cuba, not just new measures to detain freedom-
seeking Cubans.

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