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The Mariel Cubans and John Lewis's Legacy on Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2021

Michael Camp
Michael Camp*
Affiliation:
Doctor of Philosophy in History, Emory University
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Abstract

This essay examines Representative John Lewis's engagement with the 1987 uprising of Cuban immigrant detainees held in Atlanta's federal penitentiary, which occurred near the beginning of Lewis's time in Congress. Cuban prisoners at the penitentiary took control of the institution and detained several hostages in order to forestall their deportation back to Cuba. After the uprising ended, in contrast to other public figures who advocated harsh punitive treatment, Lewis urged mercy and compassion for the prisoners. Lewis's involvement in the story revealed his underlying understanding of human rights, which he connected to his experiences in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. This broad conception of human rights shaped his engagement with issues of immigration throughout the remainder of his congressional career, especially during the administration of President Donald Trump. Lewis's engagement with issues of immigration is also especially noteworthy in light of metro Atlanta's emergence as a key site for the settlement of immigrants and refugees from around the world, which continues to shape the politics of the metro area.

Keywords

immigrationincarcerationhuman rights
Type
Essay Roundtable: John R. Lewis's Legacies in Law and Religion
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 50 - 54
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University

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References

1 See, for example, Portes, Alejandro, Kyle, David, and Eaton, William W., “Mental Illness and Help-seeking Behavior among Mariel Cuban and Haitian Refugees in South Florida,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 33, no. 4 (1992): 283–98CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

2 For more on the Mariel Cubans, see Triay, Victor Andres, The Mariel Boatlift: A Cuban-American Journey (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2019)Google Scholar; Hawk, Kate Dupes, Florida and the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2014)Google Scholar; Hamm, Mark S., The Abandoned Ones: The Imprisonment and Uprising of the Mariel Boat People (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1995)Google Scholar.

3 See Hamm, The Abandoned Ones.

4 See, for example, Michelle Hiskey, “Reps. Swindall, Lewis Clash, Once again, on the Handling of Cubans,” Atlanta Constitution, November 24, 1987.

5 See Jeremy Redmon, “The Story behind the Photo of John Lewis at the Atlanta Airport,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 31, 2017.

6 See Danny Robbins, “Thousands Rally in Atlanta to Protest Immigration Policy,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 1, 2018.

7 See Eric Stirgus, “U.S. Rep. John Lewis Opposes International College Student Visa Changes,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 13, 2020.

8 See Jeremy Redmon, “Atlanta Calls for ICE to Move Detainees out of the City Jail,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 6, 2018.

9 See Greg Bluestein, “Inside the Runoff Flips: How Ossoff and Warnock Pulled off Epic Victories,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 9, 2021.