Government sets aside parole issue; Elian's father to get visa

Elian plays with his pet rabbit in the yard of his Miami relatives' home

April 3, 2000
Web posted at: 8:55 p.m. EDT (0055 GMT)

In this story: Six of 28 visa requests approved Miami relatives say they will obey law RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As a third day of talks ended without any word of progress, government negotiators said they set aside a decision on the parole status of 6-year-old Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez, saying the issue had been superceded by the possible arrival of Elian's father in the U.S. as early as Tuesday.

That news came after the U.S. State Department said it would grant visas to Elian's father and five others. Meanwhile, CNN has learned, the Justice Department has informed Elian's Miami relatives that once the boy's father arrives, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will grant him temporary care of his son.

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Under the general plan presented Monday to the Miami family's attorneys, sources say, the father would agree to remain in the United States during court appeals being pursued by the Miami relatives -- if those relatives agree to voluntarily produce Elian.

If the family agrees, instructions would be given on where and when the transfer would take place.

If the family balks at turning the boy over to his father, the Justice Department would likely go to federal court to seek an order compelling the family to produce the child.

It would then be up to the father to determine whether to stay during the appeals process.

While talks were under way in Miami, visa applications were filed at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, which is Washington's unofficial embassy in the Cuban capital, for Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his wife (Elian's stepmother), youngest son (Elian's half-brother) and a cousin of Elian's.

Those four applications were approved, as were visas for Elian's kindergarten teacher and a doctor. The six were given permission to come to the United States as early as Tuesday.

Twenty-two other visa requests are being reviewed, the State Department said in a statement. Those visas would be for a dozen of Elian's classmates, another teacher, more medical personnel and a group of advisers including Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon.

Cuban President Fidel Castro said the entire group would be willing to stay in the United States while waiting for the appeals to go through the courts -- if Elian's father can have custody of his son.

The Miami relatives' attorneys and government officials will resume negotiations Tuesday morning.

Previous talks had centered on a threat by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to revoke the relatives' custody of the boy at 9 a.m. Tuesday if they refused to sign an agreement to hand over Elian should their federal appeal to win a political asylum hearing fail.

For four months, Juan Miguel Gonzalez has been fighting to have his son returned to Cuba, but the boy's Miami relatives, backed by the Cuban exile community in Florida, have waged a fierce legal battle to keep Elian in the United States.

They have cared for the boy since he was rescued November 25 off Florida after a shipwreck killed his mother and 10 other Cubans attempting to reach the United States. Elian was one of three survivors.

Prior to the resumption of talks Monday, an attorney for Lazaro Gonzalez, the boy's great-uncle, suggested a settlement might be worked out if the father came to Miami and talked with the family.

"We are extremely hopeful that Juan Miguel Gonzalez will come to the United States -- not under the thumb of Fidel Castro but as a free man -- and have the ability to come to the home of Lazaro Gonzalez, sit down with the family, and find what is a fair solution," attorney Roger Bernstein told CNN.

Lazaro Gonzalez issued a statement Sunday in Miami inviting Juan Gonzalez, his wife and their baby son to "spend time with us as a family, to begin a process of interaction with Elian under circumstances that are best for him."

In their refusal to sign the pledge to surrender the boy should they lose their appeal in federal court, Elian's U.S. relatives want to preserve their option to sustain the legal fight. They also want a family court -- which is to consider a child's best interests -- to hear the case.

The next scheduled hearing in the case is May 8 before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The Miami relatives have said they will obey the law and surrender the boy if immigration agents show up at their door and demand him. Federal officials hope to avoid that.

"Our goal is to reunite Elian and his father," said Maria Cardona, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "Suffice it to say, the issue is not whether we will transfer Elian to his father, but when and how."

Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman, Senior White House Correspondent John King and Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

Relatives will surrender Elian if ordered, attorney says
April 2, 2000
Elian spends another weekend in Florida
April 1, 2000
Lawyer: Miami relatives will let Elian's father visit child, but not take him
March 31, 2000
INS, Elian's relatives to resume negotiations Monday
March 30, 2000
INS, Elian's relatives to continue talks Thursday
March 29, 2000
Justice Department: Elian's Miami relatives not in compliance with ultimatum
March 27, 2000

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
U.S. Department of Justice
Democracia Info Page
LibertyForElian.org - Foundation to Help Save Elian
Granma Internacional Digital, Cuba
  • Kidnap in Miami
Cubaweb
Cuban American National Foundation

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