Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas traveled to Miami, Florida to meet with Cuban American leaders at La Ermita de la Caridad to reiterate the Biden-Harris administration’s continued support for the Cuban people – including last month’s historic demonstrations in Cuba and the administration’s response, which included taking unprecedented steps to hold Cuban officials accountable for human rights violations by enacting sanctions  and working to provide internet access to the island. The visit comes after President Biden met with Cuban American leaders at the White House in July.

Secretary Mayorkas and Representative Frederica Wilson also met with Haitian American community leaders at Notre Dame D’Haiti to express President Biden’s steadfast commitment to the people of Haiti and the administration’s diligent work in ensuring the safety and well-being of Haitians as the country recovers from back-to-back severe political and natural disaster crises.

See below for a roundup of coverage from the Secretary’s visit:

Local10: Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas visits Miami-Dade County

CVJB: The United States reiterates its desire for the freedom of the Cuban people––
The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, declared this Thursday in Miami in a meeting with representatives of the Cuban community, that the Biden administration “stands firm in solidarity with the Cuban people and their desire to live in Liberty”. Mayorkas, an immigrant born in Cuba, held the meeting at the Ermita de la Caridad. One of the participants, Rosa María Payá, stated that the senior US official said that one of the goals of the White House is “to ensure that Cuban-Americans continue to be a vital partner” in the government’s efforts to help “those who they are suffering on the island.”

CBS Miami: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits South Florida to discuss how to keep Cuba’s fight for freedom alive
On Thursday, local elected leaders met with US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban exile, to discuss how to keep the freedom struggle alive on the island.
“There is no one better that he could have sent who could understand why his family experienced it than Secretary Mayorkas,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schutlz.

NBC: U.S. sanctions more Cuban officials; Mayorkas meets with Cuban Americans
The U.S. sanctioned more Cuban officials involved in the crackdown on anti-government protesters in Cuba last month after a meeting Thursday with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cuban Americans in Miami. […] The group Mayorkas met with “was incredibly diverse,” said Felice Gorordo, CEO of the technology company eMerge Americas, who attended the meeting. “There were folks who don’t necessarily agree on tactics when it comes to Cuba policy but are firmly united in a common goal to support our brothers and sisters on the island.” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, and Cuban activist Rosa María Payá were also in attendance.