>from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Elian with Dad? -problems. >Sent: April 4, 2000 7:01 AM >Subject: Talks center on uniting Elián with dad > >> Sun Sentinel > > Talks center on uniting Elián with dad > By DAVID CÁZARES, VANESSA BAUZÁ > Web-posted: 12:24 a.m. Apr. 4, 2000 > >Everything is changed now. And everything is the same. With their >decision to allow the father of Elián Gonzalez and other members of >his immediate family permission to come to the United States, >federal authorities on Monday adjusted the odds in the high-stakes >game over the boy's future. Experts say that those odds now clearly >favor Juan Miguel Gonzalez, who could arrive as early as today, >over Lázaro Gonzalez, the great uncle who wants to keep Elián in >the United States. > >At the heart of the government's latest move was a key >procedural decision that immigration authorities hope will buttress >their efforts to effect a smooth, timely reunification between the >boy and his father. > >Juan Miguel Gonzalez will be given immediate temporary custody of >his son when he arrives on U.S. soil -- legal caretaker status that >for months has rested with Lázaro, INS spokeswoman Maria Cardona >said Monday. Just how soon Juan Miguel Gonzalez would actually see >his son, however, likely still depends on the Miami relatives who >have been caring for the 6-year-old since his rescue at sea four >months ago. "Our goal is to do this cooperatively," Cardona said. >"The question here is not whether there will be a transfer of Elián >to his father, but how that will occur." > > Late Monday, the U.S. State Department approved six visas for >Elián's father, his wife, his 6-month-old half brother, a young >cousin, his pediatrician and his kindergarten teacher. State >Department spokesman James P. Rubin said the visa could be issued >as early as today. He also said the government was reviewing the >Cuban government's request for 22 other visas for an entourage of >people that includes psychologists, psychiatrists and Ricardo >Alarcón, president of Cuba's National Assembly. > > Now that the visas for the immediate family have been approved, >the question is what happens next. INS officials say Juan Miguel >Gonzalez is expected to first travel to Washington and then to Miami. >But they say it is too early to tell how soon father and son will be >reunited. > > Legally, Elián remains in the custody of Attorney General Janet >Reno. But even though he will be in the care of his father, he >could stay with Lázaro Gonzalez while the INS negotiates the child's >move with the Miami relatives. That leaves Reno and the INS with the >same problem they have faced for weeks: How to physically remove the >boy from the Little Havana home of his Miami relatives and hand him >over to his father without harming the child, or inciting unrest in >Miami's large Cuban exile community? > > Federal officials would not speculate on an answer. But the decision >by the INS to change its approach reflects the agency's goal of >heading off any problems during the child's transfer from his great- >uncle to his father. For weeks, the INS has been threatening to >revoke Elián's temporary permission to stay in the United States >unless his Miami relatives agreed to promptly hand over the boy if >their legal appeals failed. > > U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore ruled last month that Reno had >the authority to decide Elián's fate, and did not abuse that >authority by deciding the boy belongs with his father. Lawyers for >Lázaro Gonzalez have asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in >Altanta to overturn that decision. > > "The focus of the talks now is how to effectuate a >cooperative transfer," Cardona said. "If they agree to it we will >urge Juan Miguel to stay in the U.S. through the appeal." If not, we >will cross that bridge when we come to it," Cardona said. > > Kendall Coffey, one of the attorneys for the Miami relatives, said >they had not evaluated the government's decision to make Juan >Miguel Gonzalez his son's caretaker in the United States and could >not comment on it. However, Coffey said he was surprised that the INS >vowed to transfer Elián's care from his great-uncle to his father >while government attorneys were still negotiating with members of his >legal team. > > Coffey said the Miami relatives want Juan Miguel Gonzalez to come >to Miami to see his son but have too many questions before they could >consider handing over the child to him. "Based on the psychological >evaluations that we have seen, an abrupt transition would be a >harmful thing," Coffey said. > > Flanked by four of their attorneys, Lázaro Gonzalez and his >brother Delfín emerged from the federal courthouse about 6:30 p.m. >and said they were done talking for the day. Negotiations were to >resume at 10 a.m. today. "We continue to be first and foremost >concerned about the mental and psychological well-being of this >young, 6-year old," said Manny Diaz, one of their attorneys. > > Legal experts said Monday that the government's decision was >a procedural one that likely would strengthen the hands of >immigration authorities and Juan Miguel Gonzalez by putting the onus >back on the Miami family. By backing off their threats to send Elián >back to Cuba, the government is foreclosing one of the family's legal >options. They could have asked the appellate court to step in and >halt the boy's repatriation while their appeal was being pursued. > > But now that the threat no longer exists, the appeals court is >not likely to heed any request to block INS action. "The only reason >the court of appeals would issue any kind of a stay would be if it >thought the appeal had merit and if the U.S. government was going to >cut off or moot the appeal. But that's not the case here," said >Jose Pertierra, a Washington, D.C. immigration lawyer. > > "He's not being removed from the U.S. He's simply being moved from >the care of the relatives in Miami and placed in the care of his >father. That is a decision that is entirely in the hands of the >attorney general and is not subject to judicial review." "Pretty >soon this kid is going to be in Cuba," Pertierra said. > > Federal officials were clearing the way for what might happen >later this week, said former INS General Counsel Paul Virtue. >"My sense is that the INS is looking at the very real possibility >that the father will appear, and appear in the very near future," >Virtue said. "They're trying to be prepared to that." However, >Virtue said, by traveling to the United States, Juan Miguel >Gonzalez may make himself vulnerable to his relatives' moves in state >court. > > "There are some consequences of the father being here that they need >to think about," Virtue said. "I'm assuming that the state court >believes it has the jurisdiction to subpoena him if he's in the >state of Florida." If Juan Miguel Gonzalez ignored such a subpoena, >he could be held in contempt of court. > > Even if he were to leave with Elián, a default judgment could >be entered against him, said Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol, a >professor of international and human-rights law at the University of >Florida. Staff Writer Linda Kleindienst contributed to this report. >David Cázares can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
