Peter Deutsch: “I join my colleagues today, and actually in comment of other colleagues as well, of supporting legislation that would…”

“I join my colleagues today, and actually in comment of other colleagues as well, of supporting legislation that would give Elian Gonzalez at least resident alien status in the United States of America. I do this because it is a Solomonesque answer to a tragic situation. But let me also just stop and reflect, and hopefully not just my colleagues but people throughout the country will listen, that if a mother left a country that had slavery and died on the way to freedom and her child was able to reach freedom and then the owner of the father told the father to ask for the boy back, we would be suspect of what the father said. Unfortunately, the reality of Cuba today is exactly that. It is a country where the leader does, in fact, kill people indiscriminately, does in fact restrict freedom of speech, religion, and travel. If it were not so, what I just said, the father would be here. The obvious reason the father is not here today or not here 2 months ago is because Castro is afraid that if he comes, he will not leave. I ask my colleagues to support this effort.”