Court rules Elian Gonzalez must stay in U.S. until asylum appeal heard

"Plaintiff is entitled to an injunction pending appeal. Therefore, it is ordered that plaintiff Elian Gonzalez is enjoined from departing or attempting to depart from the United States," the decision concluded.

AUDIO Lazaro Gonzalez comments on the 11th Circuit's ruling 1.8MB/45 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    VIDEO CNN's Mark Potter shows the reaction outside Elian's house in Miami. (April 19) QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     RESOURCES Who's who in the Elian Gonzalez case     ALSO Miami's bill for Elian near $1 million and rising     MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations

It also bars any government official from removing the boy from the country.

The decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which got the case last week, left unclear whether the 6-year-old boy will be reunited with his Cuban father.

The three-judge panel refused to issue an order forcing the boy's Miami relatives to turn Elian over to this father, as the Justice Department had requested. That means that the limbo created when the INS ordered the boy's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, to turn over the boy continues.

The Miami relatives had also asked the court to order both sides into mediation. The court refused that request as well. "Although we may direct the parties to participate in mediation ... we choose not to do so at this time."

But the judges did urge both sides to "avail themselves voluntarily of this Court's mediation services."

The ruling warned against reading a final verdict into the order upholding the injunction until the appeal is heard:

"No one should feel confident in predicting the eventual result in this case. The true legal merits of this case will be finally decided in the future.

"More briefing is expected. We intend to hear oral argument. We need to think more and hard about this case for which no sure and clear answers shine out today."

In Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, the crowd backing Elian's Miami relatives erupted in cheers and hugs. Cuban-Americans feared that only the court order was keeping federal agents from attempting to remove Elian from the home of Lazaro Gonzalez.

There was no immediate response from the federal government.

Lazaro Gonzalez is embraced by a supporter

Before the ruling was issued, Attorney General Janet Reno told reporters in Washington, "We will utilize all law enforcement options if appropriate under the 11th Circuit order." While determined to retrieve Elian from his Miami relatives and return the boy to his father in "the least violent way," the attorney general did not specifically rule out a stronger option.

"There may come a time when there is no other alternative. But we've got to do it in a careful, thoughtful way," Reno said, adding that she remained open to suggestions from the Miami family on how to proceed with a government-ordered custody transfer.

Long deliberation not unusual

The appeals court in Atlanta had written arguments from government attorneys and those for the boy's Miami relatives since Friday night.

Although the federal government says it considers Lazaro Gonzalez a lawbreaker, Reno said her focus is on Elian, not on punishing anyone. "I have not explored the issue of sanction and penalties. I'm interested only in reuniting Elian with his father," she said.

Keeping Elian in the United States pending the court appeals is acceptable to his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, but only if he has custody during the wait. The Miami relatives, though, insist on meeting with Elian's father at a neutral site without being required to surrender the boy.

The boy's father, who came to the United States on April 6, has been waiting to meet his son and take him back to Cuba.

A ruling in Washington's favor could have led to immediate federal action to remove Elian from the house in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood where he has lived since his rescue at sea nearly five months ago.

But the Miami relatives insist they will never hand over Elian voluntarily.

Still, they 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.

Supporters of Elian's Miami relatives celebrate the court's ruling

Lazaro Gonzalez has the passionate support of many anti-communist Cuban exiles in Miami, and their emotion spilled out Tuesday night. A man was hustled off in a police car after angering the crowd outside the Little Havana home. More than 100 people pushed and shoved him away from the home before police intervened.

"I was holding a sign that said 'Send Elian Home,'" the man said before he was taken away shouting, "Let the kid go back to his father!" Cuban-American leaders called the man a pro-Castro agitator.

Later, a second man was escorted off the block by police after he yelled, "The child should go back to his father," police and witnesses said.

"These are people who come to fight with us," Esteban Nunes, a 60-year-old construction worker, said of the counter-protester. "He doesn't have the right to do it here. He can do it away from here. This is a sacred place for the child."

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.

Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, and Correspondents Mark Potter and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

Cuba diplomats summoned to explain alleged pummeling of protesters
April 19, 2000
Elian's well-being debated as court considers case
April 18, 2000
Unless barred by court order, INS to remove Elian from Miami home
April 17, 2000
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
LibertyForElian.org - Foundation to Help Save Elian
Granma Internacional Digital, Cuba
  • Kidnap in Miami
Cubaweb
Cuban American National Foundation

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