WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), first South American-born and first Ecuadorian immigrant to be elected to Congress, released the following statement on the recent news of the Trump Administration opening deportation proceedings against 25,044 Cubans seeking asylum at the U.S. border in FY19.

“It’s devastating to see  Cubans seeking asylum at the U.S. border  turned away fromtheir chance at the American Dream and  forced to go back to a cruel regime. The administration has already deported over 1,642 Cubans to the same communist regime they acknowledge continues to commit horrible human rights violations. These actions are not only incompatible with our values, they are inhumane,” said Mucarsel-Powell. “There are hundreds of thousands of Cuban Americans living in my district who are an integral and indispensable part of our South Florida community. While I strongly support the use of every diplomatic tool possible to pressure the Cuban government to end the repression of their people, I strongly believe we should not do so by punishing the Cuban people desperately seeking asylum in our country.”

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