Border protection needed, he says
By Mark Silva. msilva@herald.com. Published Tuesday, September 12, 2000, in the Miami Herald
WEST PALM BEACH -- Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush said Monday that if elected he would not change a controversial U.S. immigration policy that returns Cuban refugees to the island nation if they are intercepted at sea.
Acknowledging that he has not explored the issue in depth, Bush compared the situation of Cuban refugees to Mexico's lengthy border with Texas, saying "there has to be some sense of border enforcement in our country.''
"As I sit here right now, I wouldn't change the policy,'' he said.
Bush's comments on the policy, which created a storm of protest when it was imposed in 1995 as part of an immigration accord with Cuba, were made in response to questions during a brief interview with The Herald and other Florida newspapers at Palm Beach International Airport. The interview came
after a day of campaigning devoted to wooing older voters with promises of federal subsidies for private insurance programs that would defray the cost of prescription drugs.
Bush's comments drew criticism from some Cuban exiles, though it was not clear what impact, if any, they might have on balloting in Florida. Bush's Democratic rival, Vice President Al Gore, voiced support for the policy when campaigning in Broward two weeks ago. "I am not in favor of
throwing open the gates entirely and saying whoever heads to the United States is automatically admitted,'' Gore said.
"I think that present immigration policy violates fundamental human rights recognized by international organizations -- mainly, the right to political asylum and the right to due process of law,'' Ramón Saúl Sánchez, leader of the Democracy Movement, said of Bush's
comments. "To say things should remain the way they are is to say we will continue to violate internationally recognized rights.''
"I'm sure a better immigration policy can be accomplished,'' said Brothers to the Rescue founder José Basulto. "It sounds as if he doesn't know what he's talking about.''
Al Cárdenas, Havana-born chairman of the Republican Party in Florida, expressed surprise at Bush's remarks, but confidence that he might reconsider the issue once elected president. "I am pretty comfortable that he will hold up to his promise that we will look into the policy of
returnees before he would announce a presidential policy,'' Cárdenas said.
Reached Monday night, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, co-chairman of Bush's Florida campaign, was initially reluctant to respond to Bush's remarks -- without first seeing the full text of the question-and-answer session.
`THOROUGH REVIEW'
"My understanding on immigration policy is that there will be a thorough review of all Clinton administration executive decisions,'' he said, when pressed for a comment. "What the governor has specifically reiterated with regard to Castro's Cuba is the insistence on the liberation of
all political prisoners and the scheduling of free elections before any easing of sanctions -- as well as his interest in finding ways to assist the internal opposition.''
Both Bush and Gore have affirmed unwavering support for the U.S. trade embargo, and both have condemned Cuban President Fidel Castro for tyranny. But the issue of repatriating refugees found at sea is particularly ticklish.
The policy was imposed in 1995 after tens of thousands of Cubans fled the island on rafts. Cuban officials agreed to discourage such flights, in return for a U.S. pledge to grant 20,000 visas to Cubans annually and to return to Cuba refugees who tried to flee.
Until then, U.S. Coast Guard officials had actively assisted Cuban rafters to reach Florida, cooperating with groups like Brothers to the Rescue to spot them at sea.
Today, Cubans found at sea are taken aboard Coast Guard cutters and interviewed by Immigration and Naturalization Service employees to determine if they will face persecution if returned to the island. Those that are found not likely to face persecution are returned.
The policy has given rise to dozens of dramatic news stories, not the least of which was that of Elián González, who was eligible for return to Cuba in part because he was transferred to a cutter by his rescuers while still at sea.
Under the policy, Cubans who make it to land are allowed to stay under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
U.S. officials insist the policy has saved thousands of lives by discouraging would-be rafters from attempting the crossing.
Bush plans to campaign next week in Miami, amid an increasingly competitive race for the critical electoral votes of the fourth-largest state. Cuban-Americans represent about 8 percent of the state's voters.
"This is going to be a very tight race,'' Bush acknowledged Monday. "I knew it was going to be a tough race. I'm running against an incumbent. But I like my chances.''
In large measure because of the Cuban-American community's dissatisfaction with the administration over Cuba policy, Bush is favored overwhelmingly over Gore among South Florida's Cuban voters, polls show.
Bush said he still needed "to hear both sides of the argument'' over U.S. policy toward Cuban refugees at sea. "I don't know all the arguments, but just from a first-hand glimpse, it seems reasonable to me . . . because there has to be some sense of border enforcement in our country.''
"This is a much harder border to enforce, in some ways, than our border in Texas,'' Bush said. "Texas has got its issues because of the length of the border. You have got your issues because of the nature of the water and where people can enter.''
Herald staff writers Sonji Jacobs and Carol Rosenberg contributed to this report.
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