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Michael B. Fernández, a Cuban-American billionaire and philanthropist based in Florida, decided to step out of anonymity to acknowledge that he is behind an unusual and multi-million dollar advertising campaign that harshly criticizes Cuban-American Republican lawmakers in Congress for their stance on immigration.
For months, the residents of Miami have seen billboards and digital ads with powerful messages like "Deporting immigrants is cruel," accompanied by images of the congresspeople Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez, and María Elvira Salazar. The ads even criticized the construction of a new immigrant detention center in the Everglades, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz."
Until now, the author of these messages had remained anonymous. But in an interview with The New York Times, Fernández—73 years old and president of the investment firm MBF Healthcare Partners—revealed that he is the one financing the campaign through the political group Keep Them Honest, with the aim of “raising awareness” within the Miami community and, in particular, among his fellow Cuban-Americans.
"We are witnessing a repetition of what I experienced when I was 12 years old and left Cuba. It is more than concerning. It is frightening," said Fernández, who left the Republican Party more than a decade ago.
A message to the Cuban-American community
Fernández believes that many Cuban Americans do not see the parallels between the authoritarian regimes they left behind and the democratic deterioration that, in his opinion, the United States is experiencing today.
His campaign aims to open that debate, and his main target is the legislators of Cuban origin who, he claims, have failed by not directly confronting the immigration policies promoted by Donald Trump.
Although the mentioned congress members have shown some opposition to the removal of immigration protections for Venezuelans and other groups, Fernández accuses them of timidity and complicity. Last May, he published full-page ads in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, in which he labeled them as “accomplices and cowards.”
In a letter he plans to make public, Fernández wrote directly to the lawmakers: "It is not the far left that criticizes you. It is us."
It's not just money
Although he acknowledges that he is willing to invest "millions, even tens of millions" in the campaign, Fernández also admits that money alone is not enough.
His aspiration is to launch a movement that brings together donors, activists, and voters determined to challenge Congressional Republicans who, in his view, have not done enough to oppose Trump's immigration policies.
According to his explanation, he has privately persuaded more than 30 donors—about a third of whom are Republicans—to contribute to Keep Them Honest. However, many prefer to remain silent for fear of retaliation. Fernández himself claims to have received threats and to have lost friendships, investors, and even family ties because of his political activism.
A Republican past
Before becoming a vocal critic of Trumpism, Fernández was one of the largest donors to the Republican Party in Florida. He actively participated in the re-election of former governor Rick Scott in 2014 and contributed millions to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign in 2016.
However, when Trump won the primaries, Fernández broke ranks and endorsed Hillary Clinton in the general election. In the past, he also contributed to the campaign of Congresswoman Salazar, one of the figures he is now seeking to displace from Congress.
A personal legacy
Fernández arrived in the United States in 1965 and gratefully remembers the support he received from other immigrants. He served as a paratrooper in the Army and became a successful entrepreneur.
In recent years, he has made million-dollar donations to universities and foundations, including one million dollars to Florida International University in protest of the repeal of a state law that allowed in-state tuition for undocumented students.
Now, part of that money will be redirected to scholarships for undocumented youths. "I have to leave a mark," he said. "An example for my family and my children."
With his name already publicly linked to the campaign, Fernández hopes that more voices will join his cause. In a state where the Cuban-American electorate has strongly supported Trump's second term, his crusade represents an unusual—and challenging—appeal to the collective conscience.
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