U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar Florida's 27th District | Official U.S. House headshot
U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar Florida's 27th District | Official U.S. House headshot
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) joined her colleagues, Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) and Carlos Giménez (R-FL), in demanding that the Biden Administration deny the asylum claim for Rosabel Roca Sampedro, a Cuban regime official responsible for jailing innocent citizens during the July 11th protests in 2021, including four young people.
On July 11, 2021, the Cuban regime cracked down on protestors for shouting “LIBERTAD.” Of the political prisoners taken into custody, many were minors who joined the protests to reclaim their country and their liberties. Officials like Roca Sampedro who were complicit in this oppression do not have the right to enjoy American freedom after persecuting their compatriots calling for liberty.
“Rosabel Roca Sampedro was a prosecutor in Camagüey, Cuba who was directly complicit in sending at least four innocent individuals to prison for terms ranging from more than three years to over four years for their participation in the July 11, 2021 (‘11J’) protests,” wrote the lawmakers. “With the continued repression and human rights abuses occurring in Cuba today, we must ensure that those individuals who act on behalf of a cruel regime that actively opposes U.S. interests should not benefit from the extraordinary privilege of U.S. entry.”
Rosabel Roca Sampedro was a prosecutor from Camagüey, Cuba who is most notorious for using her office to punish several demonstrators during the July 11 protests of 2021 for demanding their basic liberties. Of the demonstrators that were tried and convicted, four young people were sentenced to an average of four years in prison for protesting. Earlier this year, Roca Sampedro took her daughter to Mexico and applied for asylum through the CBP One app from the U.S.-Mexico border. Her original plan was to enter and move to Houston.
The United States has the right and authority to block entry to individuals involved with human rights abuses. With continued repression and human rights abuses occurring in Cuba today, we must ensure that those individuals who act on behalf of a cruel regime that represses its people should not benefit from the extraordinary privilege of U.S. entry.
Read the full text of the letter here.
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