Salazar, McCaul Question Biden Over Dominical Republic Travel Advisory

Maria Elvira Salazar

House Republicans have issued a letter to President Joe Biden (D). In the letter, GOP members question Biden over his travel advisory to the Dominican Republic, calling it “harmful.”

Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R), the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chair, and Texas Rep. Michael McCaul (R), the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, have joined forces to direct a letter to President Biden. According to a press release from Salazar’s office, the letter demands “answers and accountability for their unprecedented accusations against the Dominican Republic.”

The Biden administration has issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory against the Dominican Republic. The advisory was issued because of a “risk of arbitrary detention based on skin color” against Americans that are dark skin or that come from African descent.

In a statement, Salazar questioned the advisory, commenting that “in November, the Biden Administration decided to publish an advisory accusing the Dominican government of targeting dark-skinned American citizens as part of their nation’s crackdown on illegal immigration.”

Salazar went on to call the advisory an “allegation of prejudice,” saying that it “is unprecedented and needs explanation.” Subsequently, the lawmakers argue there have been "requests for pertinent information," but none has been provided.

McCaul and Salazar go on to list 6 demands for the Biden administration:

A full and detailed written description of all cases involving Americans detained in the Dominican Republic on the basis of skin color. This includes the three which have been verbally referenced on different occasions by Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo Robert Thomas and Director for Caribbean Affairs Katharine Beamer, as well as any others. If any embassy officials have personal connections to any of the detained individuals, please explain that connection.
A detailed description of the method or process employed by the State Department to record and verify written or verbal accusations of discriminatory treatment by government officials of the Dominican Republic.
A detailed description of the mechanism or process which is used to inform Dominican authorities about the reported complaints of disparate treatment of U.S. citizens based on skin color.
A copy of all communications referring or relating to Embassy Santo Domingo’s outreach to Dominican authorities regarding alleged racism and/or discriminatory treatment of American citizens.
A detailed accounting of the timeline in which this alert was initiated, vetted, and finalized, including the ranks of the senior officials involved in the vetting process.
A full, evidence-based justification of why this alert was issued.

Daniel Molina

Daniel Molina is an award-winning senior reporter based in Miami. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Florida International University.