President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is directing the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to reopen its offices in Havana, Cuba to help facilitate the reunification of separated families, the Miami Herald reports.
Donald Trump ordered the closure of the offices and ceased a number of programs implemented in the Obama and George W. Bush administrations designed to normalize relations with Cuba and provide more open communication for Cubans living in the United States, like Ted Cruz, to communicate and aid long-lost family members in Cuba. (There’s no evidence Cruz has helped anyone but himself, let alone long-lost Cuban family members.)
“This administration is taking steps to reduce unlawful entries, deny resources to ruthless smuggling organizations, and streamline access to lawful, safe, and orderly pathways for those seeking humanitarian relief. Reopening the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Havana helps us do just that,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, whose family fled Cuba when he was an infant. “Cubans like my own family, who nearly 63 years ago fled the communist takeover, deserve the same opportunity to follow legal pathways to build a new life in the United States.”