Illegal US Travelers To Cuba Get Judicial Notices

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...23_cuba09.html


Illegal travelers to Cuba get judicial notices

By Rafael Lorente
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration for the first time is beginning
judicial proceedings against dozens of people accused of visiting Cuba
illegally, even as Republicans and Democrats in Congress move to end
enforcement of the four-decade-old U.S. travel ban to the island.

Last month, unauthorized travelers to Cuba started receiving notices from
the Treasury Department that they would be required to appear before a
judge. The notices went out about the same time the Senate voted to prohibit
enforcement of the travel ban.

"It's incredible that hearings to enforce fines against Cuba travelers are
beginning at a time when Congress and the American people have clearly
stated their opposition to the travel ban," said Nancy Chang, an attorney
with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights. Chang said two of
her center's clients have received such notices and could face hearings
early next year.

Until last month, people accused of illegal travel to Cuba had three
choices: Pay the fine levied by the Treasury Department, negotiate a
settlement for a lower fine or request a hearing before an
administrative-law judge. Those who requested a hearing found themselves in
legal limbo because Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which
enforces the travel ban, did not have administrative-law judges.


Judges borrowed

But the assets office borrowed several judges from the Department of Justice
and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission earlier this year.
Judges for the commission usually settle legal disputes arising under the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977.

Fifty cases have been referred to the judges, said Taylor Griffin, a
Treasury Department spokesman.

"We're going to be really stepping up enforcement," Griffin said.

Under the existing travel ban, Americans who do not qualify for one of a
limited number of licenses allowing them to legally fly directly from the
United States to Cuba usually travel via Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas. If
they are caught when they return to the United States, American travelers
often are questioned in writing about their trips. Many are told later to
pay a hefty fine, often about $7,500.

That's what happened to Michael and Ande McCarthy of Port Huron, Mich. The
couple spent a week in Cuba in 2001, taking medicines to a Catholic group in
Havana and visiting Trinidad on the south side of the island.

The McCarthys returned from Cuba through Toronto and started driving home to
Michigan. When the couple reached the Blue Water Bridge that connects Canada
to Port Huron, they were asked by border agents where they had been. Instead
of saying Toronto, they said Cuba.

"We're for independence, we're for being free to travel," said Michael
McCarthy, 56.

For their honesty, the couple was sent letters from the Treasury Department
asking for $15,000 in fines - $7,500 each. They asked for hearings, and
Michael McCarthy last month received a letter signed by Richard Newcomb,
director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The letter says McCarthy violated the Trading with the Enemy Act by spending
approximately $750 for a Cuba vacation package. The letter also says
McCarthy violated the law by "purchasing, transporting, and importing
cigars, a bottle of rum, and clothing" from Cuba valued at $150.

The move to crack down on travelers such as the McCarthys comes at an
awkward time. On Oct. 23, the same day the letter from the assets office to
McCarthy went out, the Senate inserted an amendment into the Transportation
and Treasury Department appropriations bill that would prohibit the Bush
administration from spending money to enforce the travel ban. The House
passed a similar amendment in September.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-5 last week for a separate
bill that would overturn the travel ban all together.

Chang, the New York lawyer, said she thinks the legislation would make the
hearings before administrative law judges moot.

President Bush has threatened to veto any legislation weakening the ban or
the embargo against Cuba. The White House and its allies are hoping to avoid
a veto by stripping the travel-ban provisions from the appropriations bills
in a conference committee that is working out differences between the House
and Senate versions.


Foes on both sides of the aisle

Two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate opposed to the president's
Cuba policy sent a letter to negotiators demanding that the travel-ban
provisions remain. Otherwise, the letter said, "we will consider all
parliamentary options available to us to respond" - a not-so-veiled threat
of a filibuster.

Enforcement of the travel ban has been stronger since Bush took office. He
benefited from a huge turnout by Cuban-American voters in South Florida who
perceived the Clinton administration as soft on Cuba's Fidel Castro and who
oppose tourism to the island because it puts money in the coffers of the
government.

But many of Bush's Cuban-American allies have not been happy with the
administration, saying it has not done enough. The president last month
announced a new presidential commission on transition to democracy in Cuba
and said his administration would crack down on travel to the island. But
the Senate voted within two weeks to forbid enforcing the travel ban,
setting up the showdown.

"There's only one man standing between my wife and myself and our friends
who want to make connections (in Cuba)," Michael McCarthy said. "And that
man is George W. Bush."

/

"Gregory Morrow" wrote in
hlink.net:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...23_cuba09.html


Illegal travelers to Cuba get judicial notices

By Rafael Lorente
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration for the first time is beginning
judicial proceedings against dozens of people accused of visiting Cuba
illegally, even as Republicans and Democrats in Congress move to end
enforcement of the four-decade-old U.S. travel ban to the island.

Last month, unauthorized travelers to Cuba started receiving notices
from the Treasury Department that they would be required to appear
before a judge. The notices went out about the same time the Senate
voted to prohibit enforcement of the travel ban.

"It's incredible that hearings to enforce fines against Cuba travelers
are beginning at a time when Congress and the American people have
clearly stated their opposition to the travel ban," said Nancy Chang,
an attorney with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights.
Chang said two of her center's clients have received such notices and
could face hearings early next year.

Until last month, people accused of illegal travel to Cuba had three
choices: Pay the fine levied by the Treasury Department, negotiate a
settlement for a lower fine or request a hearing before an
administrative-law judge. Those who requested a hearing found
themselves in legal limbo because Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets
Control, which enforces the travel ban, did not have
administrative-law judges.


Judges borrowed

But the assets office borrowed several judges from the Department of
Justice and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
earlier this year. Judges for the commission usually settle legal
disputes arising under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments
Act of 1977.

Fifty cases have been referred to the judges, said Taylor Griffin, a
Treasury Department spokesman.

"We're going to be really stepping up enforcement," Griffin said.

Under the existing travel ban, Americans who do not qualify for one of
a limited number of licenses allowing them to legally fly directly
from the United States to Cuba usually travel via Canada, Mexico or
the Bahamas. If they are caught when they return to the United States,
American travelers often are questioned in writing about their trips.
Many are told later to pay a hefty fine, often about $7,500.

That's what happened to Michael and Ande McCarthy of Port Huron, Mich.
The couple spent a week in Cuba in 2001, taking medicines to a
Catholic group in Havana and visiting Trinidad on the south side of
the island.

The McCarthys returned from Cuba through Toronto and started driving
home to Michigan. When the couple reached the Blue Water Bridge that
connects Canada to Port Huron, they were asked by border agents where
they had been. Instead of saying Toronto, they said Cuba.

"We're for independence, we're for being free to travel," said Michael
McCarthy, 56.

For their honesty, the couple was sent letters from the Treasury
Department asking for $15,000 in fines - $7,500 each. They asked for
hearings, and Michael McCarthy last month received a letter signed by
Richard Newcomb, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The letter says McCarthy violated the Trading with the Enemy Act by
spending approximately $750 for a Cuba vacation package. The letter
also says McCarthy violated the law by "purchasing, transporting, and
importing cigars, a bottle of rum, and clothing" from Cuba valued at
$150.

The move to crack down on travelers such as the McCarthys comes at an
awkward time. On Oct. 23, the same day the letter from the assets
office to McCarthy went out, the Senate inserted an amendment into the
Transportation and Treasury Department appropriations bill that would
prohibit the Bush administration from spending money to enforce the
travel ban. The House passed a similar amendment in September.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-5 last week for a
separate bill that would overturn the travel ban all together.

Chang, the New York lawyer, said she thinks the legislation would make
the hearings before administrative law judges moot.

President Bush has threatened to veto any legislation weakening the
ban or the embargo against Cuba. The White House and its allies are
hoping to avoid a veto by stripping the travel-ban provisions from the
appropriations bills in a conference committee that is working out
differences between the House and Senate versions.


Foes on both sides of the aisle

Two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate opposed to the
president's Cuba policy sent a letter to negotiators demanding that
the travel-ban provisions remain. Otherwise, the letter said, "we will
consider all parliamentary options available to us to respond" - a
not-so-veiled threat of a filibuster.

Enforcement of the travel ban has been stronger since Bush took
office. He benefited from a huge turnout by Cuban-American voters in
South Florida who perceived the Clinton administration as soft on
Cuba's Fidel Castro and who oppose tourism to the island because it
puts money in the coffers of the government.

But many of Bush's Cuban-American allies have not been happy with the
administration, saying it has not done enough. The president last
month announced a new presidential commission on transition to
democracy in Cuba and said his administration would crack down on
travel to the island. But the Senate voted within two weeks to forbid
enforcing the travel ban, setting up the showdown.

"There's only one man standing between my wife and myself and our
friends who want to make connections (in Cuba)," Michael McCarthy
said. "And that man is George W. Bush."

/




Umm, USA, the land of freedom???????????

Sam wrote:


"There's only one man standing between my wife and myself and our
friends who want to make connections (in Cuba)," Michael McCarthy
said. "And that man is George W. Bush."

Umm, USA, the land of freedom???????????

I don't know why he is blaming Bush. He didn't start it.

mrtravel wrote:
Sam wrote:
Umm, USA, the land of freedom???????????

I don't know why he is blaming Bush. He didn't start it.

But he has the best chance to stop it of anyone that I can remember - there
is substantial bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature for
scaling back the travel ban.

miguel
--
See the world from your web browser: http://travel.u.nu/

mrtravel wrote
Sam wrote:
"There's only one man standing between my wife and myself and our
friends who want to make connections (in Cuba)," Michael McCarthy
said. "And that man is George W. Bush."

Umm, USA, the land of freedom???????????

I don't know why he is blaming Bush. He didn't start it.

No, he didn't start it but for what he's doing to that poor dead
horse he ought to be up on animal cruelty charges.

[See my other article quoting BBC relaxation of Cuba travel ban.]
--
Ken Tough

mrtravel wrote:

regarding:

"There's only one man standing between my wife and myself and our
friends who want to make connections (in Cuba)," Michael McCarthy
said. "And that man is George W. Bush."

I don't know why he is blaming Bush. He didn't start it.

It's very clear why, for at least three reasons:

- The Bush administration has stepped up enforcement of the travel
restrictions. Prior to his administration, the enforcement had become
practically non-existent, so while a few people might have received
notices of violation after making a trip, no further legal action was
taken. Now not only are they are issuing many more violation notices,
they are actively pursuing violators in court. These are actions
specifically initiated by the Bush administration.

- The Bush administration has decided to significantly reduce the number
of licenses that allowed people to legally to travel to Cuba. In
particular, many tour groups had been legally traveling under cultural
licenses, and can no longer get approval to travel, since the supply of
those licenses has been practically turned off.

- Most significantly, both houses of Congress have indicated that they
want to drop the restrictions that prevent people from traveling to
Cuba. In fact, they have both passed bills at various times that drop
the restrictions. Bush stated that he would veto any bills that contain
any type of wording that relaxes the travel restrictions. It doesn't
appear that Congress has the necessary majority to overturn his veto.

"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
...
mrtravel wrote:
Sam wrote:
Umm, USA, the land of freedom???????????

I don't know why he is blaming Bush. He didn't start it.

But he has the best chance to stop it of anyone that I can remember -
there
is substantial bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature for
scaling back the travel ban.

He is kind of occupied by some other problems.

And he needs the Florida votes to win next year.


miguel
--
See the world from your web browser: http://travel.u.nu/

Is it true that I could travel to any of the "Axis of Evil" countries and not
pay a fine, yet I could, as an American, be fined for going to Cuba, which
poses no weapons threat to the U.S.? I imagine that I could have visited Idi
Amin and not paid a fine. I think those Cuban-Americans should go back to Cuba
and fight for their cause. And I don't necessarily mean fighting with violence.
There are other way, a la Mahatma Gandhi.

Subject: Illegal US Travelers To Cuba Get Judicial Notices
From: "Peter L"
Date: Mon, Nov 17, 2003 6:34 PM


But he has the best chance to stop it of anyone that I can remember -
there
is substantial bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature for
scaling back the travel ban.

He is kind of occupied by some other problems.

In article ,
(DDupin) wrote:
Is it true that I could travel to any of the "Axis of Evil" countries and not
pay a fine, yet I could, as an American, be fined for going to Cuba, which
poses no weapons threat to the U.S.? I imagine that I could have visited Idi
Amin and not paid a fine. I think those Cuban-Americans should go back to Cuba
and fight for their cause. And I don't necessarily mean fighting with violence.
There are other way, a la Mahatma Gandhi.

IIRC, you would face similar concerns (although I don't know how the
enforcement is) if you go to Syria and I think Iran. I don't know what the
rules are right now on Iraq, but prior to our arrival, it was on the list.



--
"Politics should be limited in its scope to war,
protection of property, and the occasional
precautionary beheading of a member of the ruling class."
-P.J. O'Rourke

In article .net,
(Kurt Ullman) wrote:
In article ,
(DDupin) wrote:
Is it true that I could travel to any of the "Axis of Evil" countries and not
pay a fine, yet I could, as an American, be fined for going to Cuba, which
poses no weapons threat to the U.S.? I imagine that I could have visited Idi
Amin and not paid a fine. I think those Cuban-Americans should go back to Cuba
and fight for their cause. And I don't necessarily mean fighting with
violence.
There are other way, a la Mahatma Gandhi.

IIRC, you would face similar concerns (although I don't know how the
enforcement is) if you go to Syria and I think Iran. I don't know what the
rules are right now on Iraq, but prior to our arrival, it was on the list.



After I sent this, I remembered www.state.gov and looked up the Counselar
pages. Turns out I was wrong, at least on those two. They don't seem to have a
list of don't go there or we'll bustya countries that I could find.

--
"Politics should be limited in its scope to war,
protection of property, and the occasional
precautionary beheading of a member of the ruling class."
-P.J. O'Rourke