There is another question that cannot be avoided.
South Florida is represented in Congress by some of the most prominent Cuban-American political voices in the United States.
María Elvira Salazar.
Mario Díaz-Balart.
Carlos Giménez.
They speak frequently and forcefully about Cuba.
They demand accountability from Havana.
They advocate sanctions against Cuban officials and entities.
They speak about political prisoners, repression and the suffering of the Cuban people.
Those issues deserve attention.
But representation cannot stop at the Florida Straits.
There are also Cuban families living in the United States who are suffering because of decisions made by their own government.
There are Cuban-American children whose parents face removal.
There are families trying to understand how Cuban nationals ended up thousands of miles away in African countries.
There are questions about third-country deportations, access to attorneys, family notification, medical treatment and due process.
Where is the same congressional urgency for them?
This is not to say that Florida’s Cuban-American members of Congress have done nothing on immigration.
That would be inaccurate.
Representative María Elvira Salazar, for example, has publicly pressed the Department of Homeland Security over the situation of Cubans holding I-220A documents and has advocated for Cubans caught in immigration and naturalization uncertainty.
Those actions should be acknowledged.
But the larger question remains.
Who in Florida’s Cuban-American congressional delegation is demanding a full accounting of what happened to the Cubans sent to Africa?
Who is asking DHS for the records?
Who is asking how the receiving countries were selected?
Who is demanding to know what protections were guaranteed?
Who is asking whether American spouses and children were properly informed?
Who is following the money?
Who is demanding that Congress examine these third-country agreements?
And who is sitting down with the affected Cuban families?
Cuban-American political representation should mean more than confronting the government in Havana.
It should also mean confronting Washington when Washington’s decisions cause legitimate concern among Cuban-American constituents.
The standard should be the same in both capitals.
If Havana violates someone’s rights, speak.
If Washington may have violated someone’s rights, investigate.
If a Cuban political prisoner has a name, say the name.
And if a Cuban deportee sent thousands of miles away has a name, say that name too.
Leonardo Sánchez.
Carlos Rodríguez López.
Darwin Hernández.
Emilio Destrade Correoso.
Their political beliefs should not determine whether their cases deserve scrutiny.
Their immigration histories should not determine whether Congress performs oversight.
And criticizing the Cuban government should never require remaining silent when questions arise about the conduct of the American government.
Florida’s Cuban-American members of Congress possess something these families do not:
A seat at the table of the United States government.
They should use it.
Not to guarantee that every Cuban remains in the United States.
Not to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement.
But to ensure that when America exercises its enormous power, it does so lawfully, transparently and humanely.
The Cuban-American community should expect nothing less from the people elected to represent it.