Republican Senate candidate faults Graham on Cuba policy
By Associated Press
Published October 10, 2003
MIAMI - Republican Senate candidate Larry Klayman called the "wet foot, dry foot" Cuban policy unconstitutional Thursday, vowing to challenge the Clinton-era doctrine returning home Cubans who are caught at sea but allowing those who reach U.S. soil to stay.
Klayman, the founder of the watchdog group Judicial Watch and one of several Republicans seeking the party's nomination, said the guidelines are unfair and arbitrary and opposition to them would be one of the cornerstones of his campaign for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Bob Graham.
"If you are caught running drugs in a speedboat 150 miles offshore of the United States, you are brought here and tried criminally under our laws. But if you are caught in a rowboat seeking freedom 150 feet from the beach, you are returned to your country of origin," Klayman said.
" "Wet foot, dry foot' is not only unfair, it is unconstitutional," he said, speaking at a news conference in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.
Klayman criticized Graham, saying he has failed to address the issue to South Florida's large Cuban-American community. "I want him to explain why he's abandoned the Cuban community," Klayman said.
Paul Anderson, a Graham spokesman, said that "wet foot, dry foot" is an administration policy and interpretation of statute, not something written into statute.
Graham, who ended his Democratic presidential campaign this week, has not yet announced whether he will seek a fourth term.
