Reno continues to weigh meeting with Miami relatives of Elian

February 7, 2000
Web posted at: 6:45 p.m. EST (2345 GMT)

From Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno continues to leave open the possibility of meeting this week with three Miami relatives of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, Justice Department officials say. If a meeting is arranged, Reno would likely meet in her office Wednesday or Thursday with Lazaro Gonzalez, the boy's great-uncle, and two of the boy's second cousins, Marisleysis Gonzalez and Georgina Cid-Gonzalez.

They are fighting an immigration order that would send the boy back to Cuba.

Elian was plucked from the Florida Straits on Thanksgiving Day as he clung to an inner tube. He and his mother had been among 14 Cubans on a boat that capsized while en route to the United States. The shipwrecked immigration attempt left his mother and 10 other people dead.

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The Miami relatives' request for a meeting reached Reno on Friday through a letter from Sen. Bob Smith, R-New Hampshire. Smith said the Miami relatives, who have temporary custody of Elian, told Reno in the letter that they "have new information to share with you." He did not disclose the nature of the information.

Reno has met with Miami officials, an attorney for Lazaro Gonzalez, Elian's grandmothers, and the two Catholic nuns who hosted a meeting between Elian and his grandmothers.

Justice Department lawyers Monday continued to work on a response to a letter Reno received last week from Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, who has been pressing for his son's immediate return to Cuba. In the letter, he asked that temporary custody of the boy be transferred to another of the boy's Miami uncles, Manolo Gonzalez. No response was expected before Tuesday.

Reno considers meeting with Elian's Miami relatives
February 5, 2000
Nun prepares for second lobbying trip to Washington on behalf of Elian
February 1, 2000
Elian's grandmothers back in Cuba
January 30, 2000

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U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service

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