[Marxism] Why Obama's New Cuba Rules Violate the Constitution

[Eli Stephens <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From CounterPunch: http://www.counterpunch.org/valdes03182009.html

Valdes talks about the "new rules" violating the Constitution, but since the 
old rules permitted Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba once every three years 
(rather than once/year as with the new rules), it certainly seems there is 
nothing "new" here in that the old rules were unconstitutional just as much as 
the new rules. I have often wondered why no one has challenged this in court 
(or perhaps they have and I just don't know about it). No doubt thousands of 
plaintiffs could be found. I suppose you have to have applied for a specific 
license and been denied so that you have "standing," but that's no problem. 
Here are the regulations just for purposes of completeness: 
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/cuba/cuba.pdf


Why Obama's New Cuba Rules Violate the Constitution

By NELSON P. VALDÉS

Section 621 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 authorizes Cuban ancestry 
persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to travel to Cuba to 
visit close relatives for an unlimited period of time once every 12 months and 
to engage in travel-related transactions at the "maximum per diem rate" in 
effect at the time of travel. The Cuban Americans will be permitted, as well, 
to send money to their relatives. This "initiative" has been described as a 
change in policy toward Cuba.

The guidelines to be implemented by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 
US Treasury Department do not allow non-Cuban ancestry Americans to travel to 
the island, something that was permissible before June 6, 2004.

The new ruling has serious and profound legal consequences. The new rules 
violate the equal protection under the law that is supposedly secured for all 
Americans. In other words, advantageous and preferential treatment is provided 
to a set of people of a particular national origin [Cubans]. This unusual type 
of discriminatory advantage [my terminology] based solely on national origin 
and national ancestry is one in which the majority of the American population 
is discriminated while a minority is benefited. In other words, a different 
standard on the right to travel to Cuba is used for Cuban ancestry persons and 
the rest of the population. One enjoys the right to travel; the majority is 
denied the same right.

Usually, discrimination refers to a situation in which a particular minority 
group of people is denied rights. In that sense discrimination is negative. 
Yet, in this particular case, discrimination grants people rights that others 
are not permitted to enjoy. Hence, affirmative discrimination should not be 
confused with affirmative action - a policy by which a minority is given the 
resources to enjoy the same rights as the majority of the population.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis 
of national origin. The ethnic traits of Cubans give them a comparative 
advantage that is not accorded to ANY other ethnic group in the United States. 
Such a comparative advantage, of course, implies a negation of equal protection.

It should be noted that if a US citizens marries a Cuban, then he/she can 
travel to the island as well. Thus, the concept of national origin does not 
refer to merely coming from Cuba. And American could obtain the right to 
travel, but only through marriage to a person of Cuban ancestry. Hence, the 
right of an American to travel is enhanced when that person marries a person 
who can claim to be from Cuba, or to have an ancestor who was Cuban.

Thus, the US Congress in making an exception of the Cubans' right to travel 
have violated the Equal Rights Act as well as the Constitutional right to 
travel that applies to all US citizens.

Although I am a Cuban American and benefit from the new rules, I think it is an 
outrage that such a right is denied to people who do not have a familial 
connection with Cuba. Why such a differential policy that limits the right to 
travel of so many American citizens? How can any one sustain a foreign policy 
rooted in a two-tier classification of the people of the United States?

Under the new rules, permanent resident aliens from a Cuban ancestry in the US 
will enjoy a right of travel that non Cuban ancestry US citizens do not have. 
Hence, we are confronted with a clear and obvious violation of the 14th 
Amendment since non-Cuban ancestry citizens of the United States are considered 
members of an inferior or dependent nationality and a non participant in the 
enjoyment of a right granted to others. Such inequality treats the broad 
majority of American citizens who are not of Cuban ancestry as second class 
citizens when it comes to the right to travel.

The Supreme Court's equal protection jurisprudence has established that all 
legislation identifying national origin for differential treatment should be 
considered "suspect" and subject to strict scrutiny. [1] Moreover, the right to 
unconstrained travel is founded on principles of non-discrimination and equal 
citizenship. That is why, the present policy on travel to Cuba and its unequal 
application should be rejected. Every US citizen and resident alien should have 
the right and freedom to travel to Cuba, if they wish to do so.

Notes.

[1] Adarand, 515 U.S. at 223, 227; Clark v. Jeter, 486 U.S. 456, 461 (1988)

Nelson P Valdés is Emeritus Professor of Sociology (University of New Mexico) 
and director of the Cuba-L Project.

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