The newest bill in Congress to tear down the Cuba travel ban—the freedom to travel to Cuba act—has a greater chance of passing in this Congress than in previous years, as we’ve noted before. Several factors contribute: visiting Cuba is now being viewed as an issue of the inalienable rights of Americans to travel; the travel issue has been separated from the larger question of the embargo; and Cuban-Americans that have previously strongly opposed any measures of opening to Cuba have now softened their stance.
In fact, a recent poll by Miami-based Bendixen & Associates, the largest Hispanic polling firm, found that 59% of all Cuban Americans think the ban on all U.S. travel to Cuba should be removed. Even more surprising, 48% of older and more conservative Cuban exiles support lifting the prohibition, up from 32% in 2002.
In light of such changes, the bill is gaining more and more support. In the House, it has 180 co-sponsors. And the measure is supported by such diverse actors as the travel industry, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, human-rights groups like Human Rights Watch and policy think tanks like Freedom House, the D.C.-based Cuba Study Group and the Brookings Institution. TIME describes the current probability of ending the travel ban here.
On the subject of potential and actual increased travel between Cuba and the United States: Fidel Castro wrote last week that increased U.S. travelers to the island have caused the spread of the H1N1 virus. This is the first time in years that a Cuban official has made a complaint against travel restriction loosening, although Castro did also acknowledge that the effect was not the intention of the U.S. administration.
A timely event: this Friday at Boston University (from 1 to 5 PM), leading political players and academics will debate Cuba policy, including the travel ban. Senator John Kerry, Congressman Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts, Harvard professor Jorge Dominguez and BU professors Susan Eckstein and Paul Hare will all participate. The event is open to the public, but with limited seating: see here.
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