Cuban-born rep alerts DHS to alleged Castro-connected ‘refugees' living in US under federal program

Fox News

20-03-2025

EXCLUSIVE: A congressman who fled Cuba in the 1960s will send DHS a list of people allegedly tied to the communist regime who are circumventing U.S. Cuban refugee laws.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., will transmit to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a letter including a list of Cubans residing in the U.S. under various humanitarian laws or programs that he and/or pro-Cuban-democracy groups attest are actually tied directly to the communist regime in Havana, Fox News Digital has learned.
Gimenez, who also represents the congressional district closest to Cuba – in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties – will tell Noem of the "presence of agents of the murderous Castro regime and the Communist Party of Cuba currently residing in the United States."
In the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, Gimenez continues that "it is imperative that the Department of Homeland Security enforce existing U.S. laws to identify, deport, and repatriate these individuals who pose a direct threat to our national security, the integrity of our immigration system, and the safety of Cuban exiles and American citizens alike."
Gimenez said the Cuban Adjustment Act – a 1966 law written by Rep. Jacob H. Gilbert, D-N.Y., that laid out how to handle the unique situation of Cuban refugees from the then-new Castro regime – and other laws were designed to help those fleeing communism, not assisting in it.
The Miamian – who is also the only Cuban-born member of Congress – wrote of people "with direct ties to the Communist Party of Cuba and the repressive state security apparatus" who have "gamed" the U.S. immigration system and are a direct insult to true Cuban exiles seeking personal freedom.
Gimenez then included a list of about 100 people personally denounced by nonprofit organizations and human rights watchdog groups, asking Noem's office to "thoroughly vet" the list and start deportation proceedings if their malign credentials check out.
Of the names, several are labeled as tied to or members of Brigadas de Accion Rapida – or Rapid Response Brigade. That group is made up of designated citizens who essentially patrol for dissidents of dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel and his regime.
Others were listed as affiliated with the Cuban Union of Young Communists, high-ranking officers in the country's military tribunal, Cuban State Department, Cuban Communist Party leadership, police forces, and the equivalent of district attorneys offices.
While Miami and surrounding areas continue to see their collective Cuban-American community grow and flourish – particularly along SE 8th Street, the famed Calle Ocho of Little Havana – Gimenez said he wants to work with DHS to identify, vet, detain and deport anyone living as such "despicable fraudsters in our country."
"Like so many in our community, I was forced from my native homeland of Cuba shortly after the communist revolution and it is absolutely reprehensible how agents of the murderous Castro regime have gamed our immigration laws to infiltrate our country," Gimenez said.
Gimenez said the Trump administration recently caught a Cuban spy in Florida and expects more action against those flagged by Cuban rights groups.
DHS declined to publicly share the former intelligence officer's name, but the Miami Herald reported ICE and the FBI arrested him in West Park, Florida – near the Miami Dolphins stadium – for fraudulently obtaining a green card.
"I applaud President Trump and his administration for that swift action," Gimenez said.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment on its overall stance toward the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime and calls to democratize Cuba.