A bill which would confiscate approximately $1,125,000 in bonds posted by refugees who have overstayed their six-month residence permits will come before the Senate for action tomorrow. Passage was predicted tonight by its sponsor, Senator Luis Kainas, a leader of the anti-immigration bloc.
(The bill, which is part of a general tax measure, was prepared by the Government in order to cope with its poor Treasury condition, according to advices reaching Washingtin, which said that many of the bonds for refugees in Cuba had been posted by American organizations and individuals.)
Refugees landing in Cuba on temporary visas must provide a $500 bond. The Kainas bill would confiscate 75 per cent of the bonds of those who have remained longer than six months. Approximately 3,000 Jewish refugees would be affected by the measure.
Following passage by the Senate, the bill would require the approval of the Chamber of Representatives and the President of the Republic. Refugee circles expressed the hope that the interim would be used for speedy intervention with the Government from abroad.
Senator Kainas is known for his anti-immigration and anti-Jewish bills and is one of those responsible for restrictions on immigration of German Jews and Cuba’s refusal to permit landing of the refugees on the steamship St. Louis last June. In conversation with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent, Senator Kainas expressed confidence that the bill would pass the Senate because, he said, it had a good legal basis. He declared that since the refugees had come into Cuba for only six months they had forfeited the right to the deposits by remaining longer.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
