Justice Department ready to move in Elian Gonzalez case

April 18, 2000
Web posted at: 8:04 a.m. EDT (1204 GMT)

In this story: Government deadline ignored Doctor: Elian in 'state of imminent danger' Reunion resistance Bay of Pigs anniversary RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A key ruling expected at any time could be the signal for authorities to finally reunite Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez with his father, Justice Department officials have told CNN.

Unless an impending federal appeals court ruling bans U.S. immigration authorities from forcibly removing Elian from the home of his great-uncle, Justice Department officials are planning to take enforcement action, sources said

"We will wait for the court to rule, and then we will move," Immigration and Naturalization Service spokeswoman Maria Cardona said.

RESOURCES Who's who in the Elian Gonzalez case    VIDEO The reporter who witnessed Elian's phone conversation with his father spoke with CNN. (April 17) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations

Once in INS custody, the 6-year-old who was rescued at sea nearly five months ago would be reunited with his father.

The court's decision could come at any time and would determine whether Elian must remain in the United States during legal appeals by his Miami relatives.

At the request of the Miami relatives, a judge from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta issued a temporary injunction last week that blocked Elian's father, or anyone else, from taking the child out of the country.

The federal government responded by asking the full court -- a three-judge panel -- to overturn the injunction. The Justice Department also seeks to have the appeals court order Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, to turn over the boy.

If the court chooses not to address the Justice Department request for a court order, Justice officials believe they still would have authority to take enforcement action.

But their hope is that the court will issue the order, intensifying the pressure on the great-uncle because he could be held in contempt of court should he refuse to comply.

A government-set handover deadline last week was ignored.

Responding to government charges that Lazaro Gonzalez was no longer lawfully holding Elian, the Miami family said in a statement Monday there had been no legal requirement to deliver Elian into government hands last Thursday.

"We reiterate that Lazaro will not disobey the law," the statement said, referring to the family's contention it will not block the way if federal agents come to get Elian.

But Cardona, the INS spokeswoman, disputed the claim that Lazaro Gonzalez had broken no law.

"When he took the responsibility to care for Elian temporarily ... he also took on the responsibility to abide by any INS instructions that were given to him about the parole of the child," she said.

The pediatrician who has been advising U.S. officials on the bitter custody battle Monday urged the boy be removed from the home of his Miami relatives because he was being "horrendously exploited" there.

"Elian Gonzalez is now in a state of imminent danger to his physical and emotional well-being in a home that I consider to be psychologically abusive," Dr. Irwin Redlener wrote in the letter, which was released by the INS.

The prominent New York pediatrician, who also heads the Children's Health Fund, took particular issue with a home video that the relatives released to the media, in which the boy tells his father he does not want to return to Cuba, and with recent allegations by the family of abuse by the father.

Redlener said the tape showed the boy "expressing anger and other most unusual behaviors on what appeared to be a coached, homemade recording."

The doctor wrote, "I believe there is no justification whatsoever to wait any longer in carrying out these actions that I believe are legally appropriate and, more important, clearly in the best interest of this child who continues to be horrendously exploited in this bizarre and destructive ambiance. It has gone on far too long."

The doctor helped the INS choose the team of mental health experts who met last week with both Elian's father and his great-uncle.

Reunion resistance

A Justice Department victory in the appeals court in Atlanta could set the stage for Elian's reunion in Washington with his waiting father, who wants to return to Cuba.

Juan Miguel Gonzalez, who has been living in the Bethesda, Maryland, home of a top Cuban diplomat since April 6, has said he will wait out appeals by the Miami relatives seeking political asylum for Elian -- but only if he has custody of his son.

A hearing on the asylum request is set for May 11 in the same appeals court.

The relatives want the court to let them meet with Elian's father without being required to surrender the boy.

Even if the appeals court grants the government's requests, the Miami relatives insist they will never take Elian out of their home in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. At the same time, though, they also say they won't resist if federal officers come for him.

That sets up the possibility of a confrontation with Cuban-American protesters who vow to form a human chain to protect Elian.

Some of the demonstrators say they will not give up Elian without a fight.

"There's going to be a big Waco here. We're not going to let that child be dragged out of that house. It's a disgrace what's going on here," said Doris Socorro, in a voice cracking with emotion.

She was referring to the April 19, 1993, FBI raid at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. About 80 people died when the compound caught fire.

Elian's U.S. relatives have cared for him since late November, when he was found clinging to an inner tube off the Florida coast. His mother and 10 other people fleeing Cuba drowned when their boat sank. Elian was one of three survivors.

The Clinton administration has pushed for the boy's return to his father, ruling only he can speak for his son on immigration matters. The boy's Miami relatives say he will have a better life in the United States and have attempted to portray Juan Gonzalez as a pawn of Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Government action to get Elian could be particularly controversial if it happens Wednesday, the 39th anniversary of the end of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.

In 1961, when the exiles tried to overthrow the communist Castro government, Cuban forces easily repelled the invasion at the Bay of Pigs -- a swampy, mosquito-ridden inlet on the island's southern coast.

Two hundred rebels were killed, and almost 1,200 were captured.

Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman, Correspondent Susan Candiotti and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Anxiety grows outside Miami home
April 16, 2000
Weekend of waiting in Elian Gonzalez case
April 15, 2000
Temporary stay issued blocking Elian's removal from U.S.
April 13, 2000
Elian, Miami kin seek calmer setting
April 12, 2000
Transfer of Elian tentatively set for Thursday, official says
April 11, 2000
Mental health meeting today in Elian case
April 10, 2000
Elian expected to be transferred to father this week
April 9, 2000
Medical panel to meet Elian's father
April 8, 2000

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
U.S. Department of Justice
Eleventh Circuit Published Opinions
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
LibertyForElian.org - Foundation to Help Save Elian
Granma Internacional Digital, Cuba
  • Kidnap in Miami
Cubaweb
Cuban American National Foundation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.