Havana, May 30 (RHC) -- Journalists in South Florida urged Cuban-Americans to reject a new bill that seeks to bar Cuban-born residents of the United States from visiting the Caribbean island. 

Speaking on the Cuban TV program The Round Table -- or La Mesa Redonda -- Max Lesnik, director of Miami Radio, denounced the efforts by some right-wing U.S. politicians to further restrict travel to Cuba, adding that such policies threaten the hopes for family reunions among Cubans living on both sides of the Florida Strait.

The draconian bill, proposed by U.S. Congress member David Rivera, would deny Cuban residents that are not U.S. citizens the opportunity to travel to Cuba.  Amendment H.R. 2831 to the so-called Cuban Adjustment Act is being discussed by the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The measure calls for those travelling to Cuba to immediately lose their "political refugee" status, as established under the Adjustment Act for those emigrating from Cuba and arriving in the United States.

In a commentary published today on the Progreso Semanal website, journalist Alvaro Fernandez denounced that by losing their so-called "adjustment" qualification, those Cuban-Americans would be considered "illegal" if they return to the United States.

He also said that if approved, H.R. 2831 would affect nearly 50 percent of the people travelling to the island because they are not U.S. citizens, thereby prohibiting them from visiting their relatives in Cuba.  

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