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By Frank Davies. Fdavies@herald.com. Posted on Sun, Sep.
08, 2002 in The
Miami Herald.
WASHINGTON - As chairwoman of the House subcommittee on human rights for two
years, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has held hearings on religious persecution
in China, the practice of stoning in Nigeria and the plight of women in
Afghanistan.
After Sept. 11, that last subject drew rare attention to a branch of
Congress that sheds light on human rights abuses, and also gave the first Cuban
American elected to Congress a chance to show that she is not preoccupied with
issues about Cuba.
'It's a little hard to break out of that box as 'the Cuban-American
congresswoman,' but I'm not a one-trick pony,'' said Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami
Republican who faces token opposition from May Chote, a Keys activist, in
Tuesday's primary in District 18.
Chote, 77, opposes the U.S. embargo on Cuba and gun control and favors term
limits, but has not collected any donations and has run a low-key campaign. She
said Ros-Lehtinen should not get a free ride to another two-year term.
Chote's husband, Ray Chote, is running for the seat as a Democrat in the
general election, as is independent Orin Opperman.
Ros-Lehtinen, first elected in 1989 after the death of Rep. Claude Pepper,
has had no serious opposition for eight years.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson considered taking on Ros-Lehtinen this
year but decided against it.
One reason for such reluctance is Ros-Lehtinen's formidable campaign account
of $1.5 million, built up over the years. That total ranks her 17th among all
House incumbents and challengers, according to August campaign finance reports.
This year the Republican congresswoman's main political task is becoming
better known in new parts of the redrawn 18th District.
Her district still includes Little Havana, Coral Gables, South Miami,
downtown Miami and Coconut Grove, but now she would also represent parts of
Miami Beach and all of Monroe County.
''I'm meeting people and campaigning just as I would in any race,'' said
Ros-Lehtinen, a former schoolteacher and state legislator who turned 50 in July.
She denies that she spends most of her time on Cuban issues, though they are
clearly one of her priorities. She was 7 when her family fled Havana.
This year she defended Radio Martí and the embargo in numerous
battles in Congress, and with Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart pressed State
Department and other federal officials to maintain a hard line against Cuba.
Ros-Lehtinen also successfully prodded the Justice Department to prosecute
Eriberto Mederos, found guilty of lying on his citizenship application about his
role in torturing Cuban dissidents. Mederos died a few weeks later.
''Most of my work is not Cuba-related,'' she said, citing other priorities
this year: securing funds for Port of Miami-Dade security and the Miami River
cleanup, working to free Haitian asylum-seekers and trying to get funds for
early screening and other healthcare programs for indigent patients.
But she says it's her work heading the human rights subcommittee that has
allowed Ros-Lehtinen to "shed some light on real abuses in parts of the
world that don't always get a lot of attention.''
The subcommittee this year highlighted problems in Pakistan and other Asian
nations that are now uneasy U.S. allies in the war on terrorism.
''We can't tell other countries how to run their own affairs, but if they
receive U.S. aid we can expect more from them,'' she said.
Tom Malinowski, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch in Washington, said
Ros-Lehtinen and the subcommittee have ''done a decent job'' in focusing on
human rights issues around the world.
''Her perspective comes from her experience fleeing Cuba, but she has taken
a broader view as subcommittee chair,'' Malinowski said.
As a member of the International Affairs Committee, she will be involved in
the debate in coming months over attacking Iraq.
Because of her work on immigration issues, she is also concerned that the
USA Patriot Act, allowing stepped-up surveillance to prevent terrorism, may be
leading to unfair treatment of some noncitizens.
Congress ''may have overstepped its bounds'' and will likely have to review
parts of the Patriot Act next year, she said.
The only other congressional primary in South Florida on Tuesday is the
Democratic contest in the new District 25 between state Rep. Annie Betancourt,
D-Miami, and Lorna Virgili.
District 25 stretches from Miami Lakes and Hialeah through parts of Kendall
to Homestead and Florida City. It also includes parts of Collier County.
Betancourt, 55, has served eight years in Tallahassee, and Virgili, 36, is a
former television journalist for Univisión.
The winner will take on state Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, a Republican,
on Nov. 5. | 
