Manhattan Students Take Spring Break to Cuba

Students and faculty from a Manhattan high school are in the news after an apparently illegal trip to Cuba in March; reports are noting that the student travelers have set themselves up for possible fines of up to $65,000 each. Two New York politicians who wrote endorsement letters for the trip are saying they didn't know the Beacon School students were traveling without federal sanction. Hmmm.

A few minutes of research will show that travel and engaging in any kind of commerce in Cuba by any US citizen has been problematic for all and illegal for most since the '60's, though possible for college students engaged in relevant, school-sponsored study. Educational travel to Cuba was historically a bit easier, but September 2004 Bush administration guidelines severely restricted all educational Cuba travel for any reason; US residents may travel to Cuba for academic research now but must generally show plans to stay in Cuba for 10 weeks, among other very precise criteria which, if met, will grant the applying school and, subsequently, associated travelers a license issued by OFAC (the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control). OFAC guidelines show that only undergraduate college and graduate students may even apply for a Cuba travel license; travel by US high school students may not even be considered, and any educational traveler to Cuba "...must carry a letter from the licensed institution stating: 1) the institution’s license number; 2) that the student is enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at the institution; and 3) that the travel is part of an educational program of that institution."

According to reports, the Beacon Hill group apparently traveled to Cuba without a license after city education officials and the school's principal each indicated that they denied the group permission. During a press conference April 17, New York Lt. Governor David Paterson, who wrote a letter endorsing the trip, apparently said he did not know the students had not obtained a license, and that he questioned whether Cuba travel restrictions were intended to keep students from learning about a Communist dictatorship, as exists in Cuba, and said "...education can be a tool to fight dictatorships." The New York Post is reporting that NY Congressman Jerrold Nadler also supplied a letter of support, in which he referred to global citizenship and cultural exchange.

Those very benefits of travel to Cuba are well known by the many educational institutions which had to cancel ongoing Cuba study programs in the wake of the tightened restrictions enacted in 2004. Many Cuba study programs went by the wayside because of the expense-creating requirement mandating that participants spend at least ten weeks in Cuba. DC's Inside Higher Ed says, "Experts estimated that, of several hundred Cuba programs that existed before the rule changes, fewer than a dozen remain." In 2005, Florida enacted legislation that essentially forbids academic travel to Cuba (Miami-Dade politician David Rivera said of the resulting furor, "Legislators just don’t pay too much attention to what academics think.")

Failure to meet those qualifications, among others, can net huge fines; in 2006, a small Minnesota college became the first school to agree to pay a fine ($9000); Augsburg College students traveled to Cuba for study between 1998 and 2004. If you decide to go, know that you must meet the government's criteria before you travel to Cuba, or face possible fines and even criminal prosecution, whether you are traveling through Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean. Parents and teachers must also accept the responsibility for understanding that Cuba educational travel is highly regulated, and that any kind of student travel should be researched.

Frankly, I'm stunned to hear that a politician willing to be involved in Cuban travel plans in any way wouldn't understand the Cuba student travel restrictions, considering that the rules are political in nature and have been for decades. However, it can only be a very good thing if a few more folks figure out that the US government does restrict travel to Cuba, and subsequently decide to look into the politically motivated reasoning behind those restrictions. The Post is reporting that NY Mayor Bloomberg said, "There is a problem when the federal government has regulations that you can't travel to some place." If you agree, consider making some noise and writing to your Congress representative.

Related reading:

• Florida Bill Cuts Cuba Student Travel
• Florida Sued Over Cuba Student Travel Ban (includes information on "travel to terrorist states" restrictions)
• Florida Judge: Ban on Cuba Student Travel Stands
• Minnesota School Pays Fine for Cuba Travel
• Beacon School web memo