CNN
March 21, 2000
 
 
Elian's relatives appeal after judge clears way for boy's return to Cuba

                  From staff and wire reports

                  MIAMI (CNN) -- Hours after U.S. District Judge Michael Moore threw
                  out a political-asylum lawsuit that cleared the way for 6-year-old Elian
                  Gonzalez to be returned to his father in Cuba, lawyers for the boy's Miami
                  relatives filed a notice of their intention to appeal the decision.

                  Kendall Coffey, one of the attorneys representing the relatives, said the
                  11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will be asked to review
                  one of three elements in Moore's ruling.

                  "A critical element that held that even though the statute meant any person
                  is entitled to asylum, according to the judge, that 'any person' did not include
                  Elian Gonzalez," Coffey said.

                  Earlier Tuesday, Moore wrote that the litigation by the Miami relatives
                  was "well-intended" but it could bring about unintended harm because
                  of "the reality that each passing day is another day lost between Juan
                  Gonzalez and his son."

                  In his 50-page ruling which also was posted on the Internet, Moore
                  said only the U.S. attorney general can grant political asylum to keep
                  the boy in the United States.

                  Reno: Elian's return will be prompt, fair and orderly

                  "We are pleased that the court has sustained our judgment that Elian
                  should be reunited with his father," U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
                  said after Moore's ruling. "The court's decision reaffirms our position
                  that only Elian's father can speak for his son on federal immigration matters."

                  The boy's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, has demanded that his son be
                  returned to him.

                  Gregory Craig, the attorney representing Juan Gonzalez, urged the Miami
                  relatives to respect the wishes of the father, Immigration and Naturalization
                  Service, Reno and the court.

                  "They have all concluded that this 6-year-old boy belongs with his father,"
                  Craig said in a written statement. "Any more delay would be unconscionable."

                  Attorney Roger Bernstein said Elian's U.S. relatives have no intention at
                  this time to ask for an emergency stay of the INS order to reunite Elian
                  with his father in Cuba.

                  "We have no indication the Justice Department intends to remove Elian
                  right away," Bernstein said.

                  In Havana, a government statement read on state television Tuesday
                  warned Cubans "not to fall into false optimism or excessive hope" and
                  said the battle had not ended to "achieve the return of the kidnapped boy."

                  Reno said the U.S. government would seek to return the boy to Cuba in
                  a prompt, fair and orderly manner, but she declined to say whether the
                  department had a target date for returning the boy.

                  The attorney general also said she understood "the very strong emotions
                  that have surrounded this case from the very beginning." But, she added,
                  "I have every confidence that the (Cuban-American) community will accept
                  the court's decision and will support the process that reunites Elian with his father."

                  Other Justice Department officials said they would take no action that could
                  provoke a confrontation with Miami's large Cuban exile community.

                  'Elian's life will be destroyed'

                  Elian was at school Tuesday when the judge issued his decision.

                  His fate has been debated since he was found clinging to an inner tube off
                  Florida on November 25. His mother and 10 other people drowned when
                  their boat capsized during an attempt to reach the United States. Elian, whose
                  parents were divorced, was one of three survivors.

                   Attorneys for Elian's U.S. relatives insist the boy would be psychologically
                   harmed if he is taken away from the Miami family that has cared for him
                   since his rescue at sea four months ago.

                   "We all feel very strongly that Elian's life will be destroyed if he is sent to
                   the custody of Fidel Castro in Cuba," said Spencer Eig, a lawyer for
                   Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, who has temporary custody of the
                   boy. "That's what this is about, protecting this child from harm."

                   Added Coffey, "There is abundant evidence in (INS records) ... that it
                   would be to the irreparable harm of this 6-year-old boy to be forcibly
                   removed to Cuba right now."

                   Coffey also said he hoped the appeals court would consider not only
                   legal issues but also "the best interests of the child."

                   Elian's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez said she had faith that Elian would be
                   allowed to remain in the United States. "To this point," she said, federal
                   decision-makers "haven't looked at what he wants, what he feels and what
                   his needs are."

                  Judge questioned early INS decision

                  Reno backed January's ruling by the INS which said that Elian be returned
                  to his father in Cuba, a decision also backed by President Clinton. The INS
                  order was put on hold pending the court fight. Reno, as head of the federal
                  government's Justice Department, oversees the INS.

                  While any illegal migrant may apply for political asylum, INS officials said
                  Elian is too young; only a parent or guardian can file an application for him.

                  During the three-hour hearing earlier this month, Moore asked why the INS
                  did not simply reject the asylum application filed on Elian's behalf by the
                  great-uncle and return him to his father.

                  Government lawyers said the boy already was traumatized by his ordeal at
                  sea, and that it made sense at the time to release the boy to the custody of
                  relatives who showed up at the hospital.

                   Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman, Correspondents Mark Potter and Pierre Thomas, The Associated Press
                                      and Reuters contributed to this report.