1960s cubans. in the wake of the thawing u.s./cuban relations, a new investigation is revealing what some say is an abuse of our country s welfare system accord being to an investigation by florida s sun sentinel newspaper, kwpt cuban immigrants are cashing in on u.s. welfare, then going back to the island making a mockery of the deck aids-old premise that they are refugees fleeing persecution at home. all of this costing us taxpayers over $680 million. who s responsible for allowing this to happen? with me now, the sun sentinel s reporter who wrote the article, sally kesen. tell me about this investigation and what you found. well, as you pointed out, cubans under u.s. laws get special treatment over every other immigrant group. they re allowed to stay in the u.s. if they arrive and just literally reach land. then they re all eligible for government benefits including welfare and food stamps.
fraud in the united states by people who come over from cuba and then return back to cuba and exploit that as well. that s right. that s another exploitation of our laws, is at this open door that has very good intentions to welcome people who really are victims of persecution, has also allowed in criminals who have stolen more than $2 billion, we calculated, from american businesses and government programs like medicare. so they re able to steal that money, and then go back to cuba. and they re free in cuba? they are free. as a matter of fact, we found two fugitives living in cuba, very openly. one was wanted for stealing a truck from the federal reserve with $180,000 worth of nickels. and he s living freely in cuba and we believe there are hundreds of others. sally, thank you. great work, as always.
ends up back in cuba? it s happening because you mentioned the cuban adjust. act and other laws that have really been around for decades. but a lot has changed since then and except the government in cuba is the same one. that s correct. and certainly there are cubans who are persecuted. we say that every day. but the authority under u.s. law gives sort of a blanket authorization to any cuban. they re presumed to be refugees when they arrive, whether in fact many now are coming for because they want a better life. the same reason that a lot of immigrants want to come to the u.s. there is a difference between an immigrant and an exile. if you are an immigrant, then this cuban adjustment act shouldn t qualify you for what an exile is qualified to ask for. sally, your paper in the past has also talked about medicare