MIAMI -- A group made up of Cuban exile organizations and community leaders held a news conference Wednesday in support of the removal of a children's book about Cuba from public school libraries.

The Miami-Dade School Board agreed with complaints about the book "Vamos a Cuba" and voted in favor of banning it and 23 other books in the children's travel series on June 14. That decision was made despite recommendations by a review committee and Superintendent Rudy Crew to keep the book on the shelves.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Miami-Dade Student Government Association immediately filed a lawsuit in response to the "Vamos a Cuba" decision.

On June 28, U.S. District Judge Alan Gold told the school board to keep the book in school libraries, saying he wanted to "hold the status quo" until a July 21 hearing.

Wednesday, a group that supports the removal of the book from libraries held a news conference at Versailles Restaurant.

The organizations represented at the news conference included: Cuban Patriotic Board, Cuban Political Prisoners Council, Cuban Municipalities in Exile, Spanish American League Against Discrimination, Concerned Cuban Parents Committee and Committee in Support of Dissidents Brigade 2506.

School Board member Frank Bolanos, who led the effort to remove the book, said, "'Vamos a Cuba' is a one-sided and incomplete picture of life in Cuba. The author fails to mention there is no free speech, no free elections, no freedom of the press -- real issues people there face every day."

"While I absolutely support the author's right to write and publish the book, I stand with concerned Miami-Dade taxpayers. We shouldn't have to subsidize what is essentially political propaganda about life in Castro's Cuba," Bolanos said.

Less than two months after the board voted to remove "Vamos a Cuba," another complaint was filed about the children's book "Cuban Kids."

In a statement regarding the new book removal request, the American Civil Liberties Union said: "This is a prime example of the slippery slope and open season on libraries and authors that will be inevitable if censorship of books in our public school library system is institutionalized.

"Two months ago, it was 'Vamos a Cuba.' Now, it's 'Cuban Kids.' Next week could be any and every other book on the library shelves, which would leave the children of Miami with empty libraries."