New Congress and Obama Leave Family Cuba Travel Restrictions in Place
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on March 13th, 2009 4:36 am by HL
New Congress and Obama Leave Family Cuba Travel Restrictions in Place
New York – This week, President Obama signed legislation prohibiting the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from spending any money to enforce restrictions from 2004 on family travel to Cuba between now and October and in response, OFAC rescinded regulations on family travel made more severe by the Bush administration. Travel regulations prior to the Bush administration continue in effect as they have been for over 45 years, and it remains illegal for anyone to travel to Cuba. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) issued the statement below in response:
March 13th, 2009 at 8:45 am
We have reissued our statement in light of the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recent general license provision in response to the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009. You can find it on our website: http://www.ccrjustice.org. It is also pasted here:
New Congress and Obama Leave Family Cuba Travel Restrictions in Place
Rights Group Says Despite Bill Signing Family Travel Still Unconstitutionally Restricted
CONTACT: press@ccrjustice.org
New York – This week, President Obama signed legislation prohibiting the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from spending any money to enforce restrictions from 2004 on family travel to Cuba between now and October and in response, OFAC rescinded regulations on family travel made more severe by the Bush administration. Travel regulations prior to the Bush administration continue in effect as they have been for over 45 years, and it remains illegal for anyone to travel to Cuba. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) issued the statement below in response:
We are deeply encouraged by OFAC’s swift action in rescinding the Bush administration’s 2004 restrictions on family travel to Cuba. The restrictions implemented by the Bush Administration were unduly harsh and tore at the fabric of family integrity. The regulations that remain on the books, however, are by no means new and continue to undermine constitutionally protected rights.
We maintain that the right to family integrity is one that cannot be restricted or licensed by the Treasury Department or any other branch of the government. It is a fundamental human right rooted in the 1st and 5th Amendments, as well as international law. As such, we urge the President to take swift action by removing any restriction and authorize unrestricted family travel.
Those who want to control where Americans can travel and what they can see should realize that after nearly 50 years their Cold War rhetoric is both tired and obsolete. We live in a new and different world than we did in the early 1960’s and even then, the travel ban to Cuba was misguided, ineffective and unconstitutional. The Cuban government has shown it can survive without the lifeline of the United States and is busy nurturing relationships with many other nations. The travel embargo only serves to hurt American citizens by denying our right to travel where we want and to keep families apart.
We hope the new Democratic leadership with President Obama at the helm will correct this immediately by first granting Cuban-Americans the unrestricted right to visit their families under law and then allowing all Americans their constitutional and human right to freedom of travel and association.
Under the current legislation, family members with “close” relatives – limited by three generations removed – who are Cuban nationals residing in Cuba are authorized to make one visit per year for an unlimited length of stay. Additional trips or trips to visit individuals who are not Cuban nationals must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. OFAC additionally increased the daily expenditure rate to $179 (as determined by the State Department).
The due process right to preserve family relationships is deeply rooted in the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and international human rights law confirms that the preservation of family relationships is “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.”
For a copy of CCR’s amicus brief on family travel restrictions, click here.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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