Bill Clinton: “Good afternoon. In recent weeks the Castro regime has encouraged Cubans to take to the sea in unsafe vessels to escape…”

“Good afternoon. In recent weeks the Castro regime has encouraged Cubans to take to the sea in unsafe vessels to escape their nation's internal problems. In so doing, it has risked the lives of thousands of Cubans, and several have already died in their efforts to leave. This action is a cold-blooded attempt to maintain the Castro grip on Cuba and to divert attention from his failed Communist policies. He is trying to export to the United States the political and economic crises he has created in Cuba, in defiance of the democratic tide flowing throughout this region. Let me be clear: The Cuban Government will not succeed in any attempt to dictate American immigration policy. The United States will do everything within its power to ensure that Cuban lives are saved and that the current outflow of refugees is stopped. Today, I have ordered that illegal refugees from Cuba will not be allowed to enter the United States. Refugees rescued at sea will be taken to our naval base at Guantanamo, while we explore the possibility of other safe havens within the region. To enforce this policy, I have directed the Coast Guard to continue its expanded effort to stop any boat illegally attempting to bring Cubans to the United States. The United States will detain, investigate, and, if necessary, prosecute Americans who take to the sea to pick up Cubans. Vessels used in such activities will be seized. I want to compliment the Coast Guard and the Immigration and Naturalization Service for their efforts. And I want to thank Florida's officials, including Governor Chiles and the Florida congressional delegation, for their help in protecting and saving the lives of Cubans who seek to escape the regime. Anticrime Legislation Now I'd like to speak just for a moment about the crime bill. In the last week I have fought hard to put this crime bill back on track. After extensive talks with members of both parties, I have indicated my support for strengthening the provisions that require sexual predators to report to the police and make sure their communities are notified of their presence. And I support cutting overall spending in the bill by 10 percent. These cuts will ensure that every dollar authorized in the bill will actually be paid for, not with new taxes and not by diverting dollars from other needed programs but, as I have always insisted, with the savings we will gain from reducing the size of the Federal Government by over a quarter of a million people over the next 6 years, to its lowest size in over 30 years, since President Kennedy was here. And all of these historic savings will go back to the American people to make their streets and their homes, their schools safer. I have insisted that we keep the most profoundly important elements of the crime bill, to keep it tough by putting 100,000 police officers on the street, building more prisons, putting violent criminals away for good, by making ``three strikes, you're out'' the law of the land, and by other stronger provisions on sentencing. And we're going to keep it smart, with the sensible crime prevention programs that steer our kids away from drugs and gangs and give them things to say yes to. The crime bill must ban handguns for juveniles and take deadly assault weapons off our streets. Even though we've come under intense pressure from forces that will apparently say anything to take the assault weapons out of the bill, I have refused to do so. Let's keep in mind what this crime bill is all about. It's about removing fear from our streets, our schools, and our home. Innocent Americans should not have to fear being preyed upon, as so many do today. Innocent children should not have to fear losing their childhoods, as so many do today. We owe it to the American people that do the work and pay the bills in this country to make sure that people who commit crimes get caught, that those who are guilty get convicted, and those who are convicted serve their time. We also owe it to them to do whatever we can to prevent crime in the first place. That's what the police and the prevention programs are all about. That's why it is so important and why I have worked so hard to make sure that we do not turn this crime issue into yet another Washington partisan issue. This is a grassroots, mainstream, nonpartisan issue, and so it should remain. It must be an American crime bill. We have worked hard on it, and I call upon Congress to pass it without delay. Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International]. Cuba”