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ELIAN GONZALEZ FINALLY RETURNS TO CUBA
On Wednesday afternoon, 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez returned to Cuba with his father after spending seven months in the US after surviving the journey from Cuba that killed almost all the other people with him, including his mother.  The return was made possible when the US Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal filed by Elian’s Miami relatives, or to extend the injunction keeping Elian in the US.  
Elian was rescued at sea on Thanksgiving, and was paroled into the custody of his great uncle Lazaro Gonzalez.  He quickly became a symbol for the Cuban community in Miami, which did not want to see him returned to the Communist island.  An application for asylum was filed on Elian’s behalf, but the INS refused to accept it.  The Miami relatives sued, claiming that this refusal violated Elian’s rights.  Earlier this year a district court ruled that the INS had not committed any legal violation when it determined that someone as young as Elian must be represented by a parent in asylum applications. 
After issuing a strongly worded injunction to keep Elian in the US during the course of legal proceedings, many felt the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals would reverse the district court.  They were shocked when the appeals court upheld the district court opinion.  Last week the court denied a rehearing, and on Monday an appeal was filed with the Supreme Court.  Early Wednesday the Supreme Court said it would not hear the case, clearing the way for Elian to leave with his father and stepmother later that day. 
Throughout the first five months in which Elian was in the US, he was with family in Miami.  He was a regular feature in the national news media, as was footage of people protesting outside the house he was living in, calling for Elian to be allowed to stay in the US.  His father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, came to the US in early April to be with his son while the court case was proceeding.  When the Miami family refused to surrender Elian, federal agents raided the house in Miami, taking Elian and reuniting him with his father.  The raid has been the subject of great controversy, and, as with the entire incident, was seized on by politicians.  
When Elian first arrived, many politicians were calling for him to be granted citizenship, or at least permanent residence, including Vice-President Al Gore.  This was a major break with the administration, and was seen by many as an attempt to secure votes in the important state of Florida.  The momentum for this sort of action faded, only to be replaced by a chorus of politicians calling for hearings to investigate the raid.  Hearings were never held, many think because Congress realized that while the situation was foremost in the minds of Cuban-Americans, the majority of other Americans were growing tired of the case and the daily media coverage of it.  
Of course, American politicians were not the only ones who seized upon the case.  Fidel Castro used it to call for giant protests in Havana, and to step up criticism of US immigration policy that allows those Cubans who make it to US soil to apply for a green card, while returning those caught at sea.  Many believe this policy has led to more deaths while crossing, as people become increasingly desperate to make it to the US. 
While in Cuba, Elian and the four classmates who came to the US with his father are scheduled to have intensive academic classes to complete the first grade.  Elian and his family are living in a resort house outside of Havana before they more back to their hometown of Cardenas. 
 
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