DHS Secretary Mayorkas traveling to Miami next week to meet with Cubans, Haitians
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will meet with Cuban and Haitian Americans in Miami next week, amid ongoing crises faced by both Caribbean countries, according to a White House official.
The trip is part of the White House’s efforts to meet with members of the Cuban diaspora in South Florida, over a month since the July 11 anti-government protests broke out on the island, sparked by a shortage of food and medicine and a lack of access to vaccines. Dozens of protests have since taken place in Miami and throughout South Florida to protest the communist regime in Cuba.
Mayorkas, who is himself a Cuban immigrant, plans to “reaffirm President Biden’s commitment to hold the Cuban regime accountable, support the Cuban people,” and to “ensure Cuban Americans remain a vital partner in our efforts to provide relief to those who are suffering on the island.”
The White House did not immediately give details on when the visit will take place or who will be in attendance.
Ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and a group of Cuban Americans at the White House last month, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new sanctions against top leaders of Cuba’s National Revolutionary Police over excessive violence against protesters.
While in Miami, Mayorkas also plans to meet with members of the Haitian community to “discuss the impact of the political crisis in Haiti” and U.S. efforts in the country following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7.
Mayorkas also plans to meet with first responders of the Surfside building collapse.
On July 13, Mayorkas warned Cubans and Haitians during a press conference not to try to come to the United States illegally by sea and said they would not be allowed in if they tried.
“Any migrant intercepted at sea, regardless of their nationality, will not be permitted to enter the United States,” Mayorkas said at the time.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 5:04 PM.
