Stop US Policies That Leave Cuban Families Without Power, Food, And Medicine

CONGRESS MUST ACT NOW TO MODERNIZE U.S. CUBA POLICY AND PREVENT A DEEPENING HUMANITARIAN AND MIGRATION CRISIS As your constituent, I am writing to urge immediate Congressional attention to Cuba’s deepening humanitarian emergency and its growing impact on regional stability and U.S. migration pressures. Severe shortages, prolonged electrical blackouts, and fuel scarcity - combined with aging infrastructure and maintenance shortfalls - are crippling daily life. Recent U.S. measures aimed at restricting oil shipments and tightening financial risk exposure have increased compliance uncertainty for banks, shippers, and insurers. This environment can contribute to over-compliance that chills even permitted humanitarian, remittance, and family-support transactions. Cuba’s economic collapse has been a major driver of migration in recent years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 425,000 encounters with Cuban nationals at U.S. borders during fiscal years 2022–2024, reflecting the scale of outward migration pressures. Without policy adjustments that improve basic living conditions, migration pressures and regional instability may intensify. POLICIES THAT LEAVE CIVILIANS WITHOUT POWER, WATER, AND MEDICAL CARE DO NOT ADVANCE FREEDOM When fuel shortages and grid failures shut down electricity, hospitals, water systems, refrigeration, and transportation, Cuban families face conditions no civilian population should endure. Broad economic pressure that predictably harms families can entrench hardliners, shrink civic space, and provide the regime with a permanent external scapegoat. Despite decades of embargo and sanctions, Cuba remains authoritarian, while civilian hardship has persisted. CONGRESS MUST REQUIRE OVERSIGHT, HUMANITARIAN SAFEGUARDS, AND A CLEAR ENDGAME Congress should require regular public reporting on humanitarian impacts, migration drivers, and whether current measures are achieving stated objectives. Core embargo statutes, including the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and Helms-Burton (1996, H.R. 927 / Pub. L. 104-114), should be reviewed in light of modern over-compliance that can impede permitted remittances, medical supplies, and food shipments. A SMART STRATEGY CAN PROMOTE FREEDOM WHILE REDUCING SUFFERING AND PROTECTING U.S. INTERESTS Nothing in this approach weakens the United States’ commitment to democratic freedoms and human rights for the Cuban people. Targeted sanctions on officials and security entities should remain, but they must be paired with humanitarian safeguards and a credible pathway to relief tied to verifiable reforms. Continued instability in Cuba can increase migration pressures, strain regional partners, and create broader security and humanitarian challenges in the Caribbean. REQUESTED CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS (1) Hold immediate bipartisan oversight hearings examining humanitarian impacts, fuel-related measures, and unintended barriers to lawful food, medicine, and remittance flows. (2) Establish clear humanitarian and energy carve-outs with safe-harbor guidance so banks and shippers can process lawful transactions without fear of penalties. (3) Expand support that bypasses state control, including independent private enterprise, uncensored communications access, and NGO-delivered humanitarian aid. (4) Pair targeted sanctions with a credible off-ramp specifying verifiable reforms that would trigger phased relief. (5) Coordinate with allies to reduce migration drivers, stabilize basic services, and focus pressure on rights abusers rather than civilians. Thank you for your continued service to our nation. I am grateful for your efforts on behalf of our community and for your commitment to pursuing practical, humane, and bipartisan solutions that promote stability, freedom, and human dignity in our hemisphere.