The Hypocrisy of Cuban-American Legislator Brian Echevarría: He Denies Other Immigrants the Opportunities His Family Had

One of only two Latino legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly is trying to make a name for himself in the local political scene at the expense of immigrants.

Brian Echevarría, of Cuban descent, is a fierce advocate of anti-immigrant policies to persecute and deport undocumented immigrants who, like his family, came to the country fleeing violence, persecution, or poverty.

An incomprehensible paradox that Echevarría has sought to justify in legislative debates under the argument of “legality.” According to his interpretation of the law, anyone who enters the country without permission commits a crime and is an “illegal,” a criminal, despite the fact that it is actually a civil infraction.

But in addition, with his speech, Echevarría has made an apology for discrimination against immigrants based on their immigration status.

“We keep trying to conflate illegal immigrants with legal immigrants and pretend they’re one community, but they’re not. We all live here, but we’re not all part of the same community, and our circumstances are different,” said Echevarría in defense of the anti-immigrant bill HB318, which expands sheriffs’ collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

A morally contradictory stance but also historically hypocritical because Echevarría probably wouldn’t be here if his parents or grandparents hadn’t enjoyed the privilege of being able to adjust their status after arriving in the country fleeing the Castro dictatorship.

Thanks to the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 and subsequent policies such as the “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” program, thousands of Cubans who arrived in the country had the opportunity to adjust their status, obtain permanent residency, and become U.S. citizens, like the Echevarría family.

Now, this son of Cuban immigrants who enjoyed that privilege calls them “illegals” and closes the door to other migrants who demand the same opportunity to settle and live peacefully in the country.

His discriminatory stance suggests that the suffering of other immigrants, such as Venezuelans fleeing dictatorship or Mexicans escaping violence and poverty, does not deserve the same humane treatment that Cubans like the Echevarría family received.

Instead of promoting the cruel persecution and deportation of undocumented immigrants spearheaded by the Trump administration, followed as bandogs by the leaders of the Republican majority in the state legislature, Echevarría should use his privilege as a legislator to advocate for more just immigration policies so that the opportunity for the American Dream his family received is within everyone’s reach.