[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 85 (Thursday, June 23, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H4991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FLAWED POLICY DENIES CUBAN-AMERICANS REGULAR FAMILY VISITS

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the case of 
Sergeant Carlos Lazo. Sergeant Lazo is a Cuban American, a proud Cuban 
American who is serving in our military. He recently did a tour in Iraq 
and came home, wanting to visit his two children in Cuba. He was 
prevented from doing so, stopped at the airport, because we have a 
policy that only allows Cuban American families to visit each other 
once every 3 years. Here is a man serving in our military, proudly; we 
trust him in Iraq, but we do not trust him to visit his own family in 
Cuba.
  It seems to me this policy is flawed. We will have amendments next 
week on the Treasury-Postal bill.
  I urge my colleagues to look at this case, to meet with Sergeant Lazo 
who is on Capitol Hill today, and to rethink this policy of ours that 
denies Cuban Americans the ability to visit their families.

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