Summary

The Congress of the United States is currently deliberating a variety of legislative initiatives that would reform our policy toward Cuba. One striking aspect of that policy, as House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman has pointed out, stands out because it has more to do with us than with Cuba:  the longstanding prohibition on travel by Americans to the island. The travel ban is the only aspect of the broader embargo that infringes on the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens.  It should be ended.

This report will provide policy makers, members of the media and other interested parties with three essential sets of information: background on the policy behind the travel ban, what defenders argue in support of keeping the travel ban and what we say in response, and responses to arguments that Cuba remains a threat to national security.

To read the complete policy paper, click here.