Coalition Letter Urges President-Elect to Reverse Bush Policies on Travel and People-to-People Exchanges with Cuba

WASHINGTON, December 8, 2008 - A diverse coalition of academic, business, humanitarian, and advocacy organizations has sent a letter to President-elect Obama urging him to reverse U.S. policies toward Cuba that limit people-to-people exchanges, family travel, and remittances.

NAFSA: Association of International Educators joined the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Friends Service Committee, Church World Service, Fund for Reconciliation and Development, Latin America Working Group, Latin American Studies Association, National Foreign Trade Council, Operation USA, Social Science Research Council, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, USA*Engage, and Washington Office on Latin America in asking the president-elect to take actions that send a "clear and welcome signal of change and reverse actions that have proven counterproductive to our shared goal of assisting the Cuban people."

The letter urges the early repeal of executive-branch amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations published in 2003 and 2004 that have decimated academic and cultural exchanges with Cuba and severely restricted travel to and from the island. It calls for the restoration of licenses for short-term study and teaching in Cuba; study in Cuba under third-party programs; study in Cuba under programs other than those of the institution in which a student is enrolled; academic travel to Cuba by all bona fide professors and researchers; people-to-people, cultural, and sports exchanges unrelated to academic coursework; and programs of secondary schools for study in Cuba.

The letter goes on to urge action to restore the availability of visas to Cuban scholars, religious leaders, cultural and sports figures, and others to participate in academic conferences and events, religious and cultural activities, and other forms of people-to-people exchange. It recommends "minor amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to permit travel to Cuba by all eligible persons via a general license rather than requiring specific license applications."

With respect to family travel to Cuba, the group asks that current restrictions on travel to and expenditures in Cuba by family visitors, as well as cash remittances to Cuba, be rescinded. The letter urges the president-elect and his administration to work with Congress to review U.S. policy on Cuba more broadly, including the eventual complete repeal of travel restrictions, so that all U.S. citizens can "engage with the Cuban people" and so that U.S. government resources currently devoted to enforcing Cuba travel restrictions can be redeployed to investigate transactions that threaten U.S. security.

Read the letter (90kb )