A Cuban congressman called out the hypocrisy surrounding the outrage over President Donald Trump’s immigration halt Monday.
Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, pointed out that very few people were upset after former President Barack Obama stopped the Cuban “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy, reports the Washington Examiner.
Obama ended the policy about a week before leaving office. The “wet-foot, dry-foot” allowed Cubans fleeing their country to stay in the United States if they touched U.S. soil.
“I am struck by the double standard and hypocrisy of those who are offended by this executive order, but who failed to challenge President Obama when he took similar action against Cuban refugees, especially since President Obama’s action was meant to appease the Castro regime and not for national security reasons,” Diaz-Balart said in a statement.
Trump’s executive order, issued Friday, placed a temporary halt to immigration from seven Middle Eastern countries. People from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen can’t come into the U.S. for the next 90 days.
Diaz-Balart expressed his support for the temporary ban, explaining that it is the job of the president to ensure the safety of the American people.
“The ban is only temporary until the Administration can review and enact the necessary procedures to vet immigrants from these countries. The ban is based on countries the Obama administration identified as ‘countries of concern’ and not based on a religious test,” his statement read.
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