[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1086]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       URGING RELEASE OF DR. GONZALEZ-MEJIAS AND DR. DARIAS-MESA

  Mr. MACK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of 
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mack) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MACK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a great 
humanitarian injustice facing two Cuban refugee doctors and their 
families.
  On April 10, 2002, Dr. David Gonzalez-Mejias and Dr. Marialis Darias-
Mesa were notified by the U.S. Government that they had been awarded 
documents that would allow them to immigrate to America and begin a new 
life in freedom.
  Unfortunately, the Cuban Government denied these doctors permission 
to leave Cuba with their spouses and children. They were told because 
they were doctors, they would have to remain in Cuba for another 3 
years. However, their families were permitted to leave and now reside 
in Florida.
  Three years later, in April 2005, the doctors again sought permission 
to leave Cuba. That permission was once again denied, and they were 
told they would have to remain in Cuba. Fearing the Castro regime would 
continue to block their exodus to freedom and reunification with their 
families, the doctors copied their original United States parole papers 
and made a desperate attempt to escape tyranny.
  While on a boat fleeing Cuba, they were picked up by the United 
States Coast Guard and turned over to the Bahamian Government along 
with 17 other Cuban nationals at Cay Sal in the Bahamas. Unlike the 
other refugees, Dr. Gonzalez-Mejias and Dr. Darias-Mesa had been 
awarded an authorization for parole of an alien allowing them to enter 
the United States, and they should not have been turned over to the 
Bahamian Government. But they were, and since then they have been 
detained in the Bahamas in deplorable conditions.
  Since June, the United States Government has actively sought the 
release of the doctors to U.S. custody and to prevent their 
repatriation to Cuba. However, despite numerous official requests for 
their release and meetings between our governments, including a meeting 
I had with the Bahamian Ambassador to the United States, the Bahamian 
Government continues to debate, deliberate and drag its feet about 
releasing these doctors to our custody.
  Mr. Speaker, the time is past due for the Bahamian Government to 
release these doctors to the United States. Our two countries have 
always enjoyed strong relations, and we all want that friendship to 
continue without question or concern. But in this matter, the Bahamian 
Government is not acting as friends should. They are denying liberty to 
two refugees who were awarded freedom by the United States.
  This past weekend I spent nearly 2 hours with the families of these 
doctors. I was moved by their incredible strength and faith that their 
family would one day be reunited. I was also saddened by their long and 
needless separation, and outraged by the course of events that have 
torn their lives apart.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the Bahamian Government in the strongest possible 
terms to release Dr. Gonzalez-Mejias and Dr. Darias-Mesa to our 
custody, and I hope my colleagues will join me in this important 
humanitarian endeavor.

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