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Activist: Modify policy on intercepted Cubans
The Cuban-American ended a hunger strike when U.S. officials agreed to a discussion of wet-foot, dry-foot rules.
Associated Press
Published January 21, 2006
MIAMI - A Cuban-American activist who ended an 11-day hunger strike this week listed some changes Friday that he hopes the federal government will make to its wet-foot, dry-foot policy for Cuban immigrants.
Supporting himself on a cane, Democracy Movement head Ramon Saul Sanchez told reporters he also hoped his efforts would re-energize Cuban-Americans to put aside their differences so they can work together after Fidel Castro's death.
"We need to be more tolerant of people who think differently," an emotional Sanchez said. Sanchez began the protest after the U.S. government repatriated 15 Cubans who landed on an old bridge in the Florida Keys on Jan. 4. Because the bridge no longer connects to land on either end, the federal government decided the group had not reached land and sent them back.
Under the current wet-foot, dry-foot policy, which began during the Clinton administration, Cubans picked up at sea are usually returned home, while those who reach U.S. soil are allowed to stay. Previously, Cubans picked up at sea were generally brought to the United States.
Among the points Sanchez hopes will be raised when Cuban-American legislators meet with U.S. State Department officials is the need to alert families more quickly when migrants are intercepted at sea so they know their loved ones are alive. He also wants stiffer penalties for human smugglers and an investigation into the possible involvement of Cuban officials in human trafficking.
Sanchez also is asking that when someone dies during a high seas interdiction, the other migrants not be sent back until they have given testimony to law enforcement.
A State Department letter sent Friday to the office of Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, confirmed that federal officials will meet with the congressman to discuss both the 15 Cubans who were sent back and the Cuban immigration policy in general, but a date has not been set.
Sanchez said Democracy Movement lawyers were negotiating with federal officials to participate in the meeting.
[Last modified January 21, 2006, 01:33:17]
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