 INS DECIDES ELIAN GONZALEZ TO RETURN TO CUBA
On Thanksgiving Day 1999 a new chapter in US-Cuba relations began with the discovery of a small boy clinging to an inner tube. Elian Gonzalez was one of three survivors of a group of 14 people, including his mother, who were attempting to enter the US. When Elian was brought ashore, he became the subject of an international child custody dispute between his relatives in Miami and his father in Cuba, a dispute that became the latest symbol in the ongoing political disputes between the two countries.
After almost six weeks, the US government finally decided that Elian should be returned to his father in Cuba. The decision, made by the INS, was issued on Wednesday, January 5, 2000. The press release clearly reveals the basis for the decision, and reveals the efforts the agency took to avoid further politicization of this already charged topic. As the INS saw the issue, it was “who could legally speak for him on immigration issues.” The answer to this question was complicated by the presence of so many people who claimed to represent Elian his father, his uncle in Cuba, and many lawyers. After meetings with all of these people, the “INS determined that Mr. Juan Gonzalez has the sole legal authority to speak on behalf of his son, Elian, regarding Elian’s immigration status in the United States.”
The primary factor in the decision was INS interviews with Mr. Gonzalez. During these interviews, the “scope of information and level of detail Mr. Gonzalez provided helped inform INS as to the nature and closeness of the relationship Mr. Gonzalez shared with his son Elian.” Throughout the six week dispute, Mr. Gonzalez claimed that after he and Elian’s mother divorced, he retained primary custody of Elian.
The decision was approved of by Attorney General Janet Reno during a Thursday press conference, ending the hopes of many that she would overrule INS Commissioner Doris Meissner. Reno stated that she fully agreed with the “determination that the father has the legal right and the legal authority to speak for his child in immigration matters.” President Clinton also supported the decision, saying “I told you when we started this that I would do my best to keep this decision out of politics. We have done that and not been involved in it.” Of course, despite such words this has been an intensely political issue, as seen in the fact that almost as soon as the decision was announced, the two leading Republican presidential candidates, Gov. George W. Bush (R-TX) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), denounced it. Vice President Al Gore also publicly disagreed with the Administration on this decision. The decision by the INS has been met with protests in the Miami Cuban community. Hundreds of people have been gathering outside the federal building in Miami. They have been standing in intersections, blocking traffic as well as attempting to prevent traffic from entering and leaving the Port of Miami. As of Friday morning, at least 135 people had been arrested. Elian’s family in Miami wants to have his fate decided at an immigration hearing, which had been scheduled to occur on January 21.
The Miami family has said they will go to court to prevent Elian’s return, but legal experts say such a suit is unlikely to succeed. First they must be found to have legal standing to sue on Elian's behalf in a U.S. court, and even then it would be unlikely that a judge would rule in their favor rather than the father’s.
The current plan is to have Elian reunited with his father by January 14, but the INS has not yet stated how exactly this is to happen. In the press release announcing the decision, the INS suggested it may be accomplished by having Mr. Gonzalez come to Miami, or by having a Miami family member escort Elian to Cuba, or with the assistance of a third party. It is clear that at any rate the INS would like the transfer to be made without taking custody of Elian.
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