Relatives in Miami had filed the lawsuit against the INS, stating they were acting on behalf of the six-year-old child, who is currently in their custody. His father, Juan González, who lives in Cuba, has insisted he be sent home. Lawyers for the Miami relatives quickly notified the court they intended to appeal the decision.

In a news conference, U.S. attorney general Janet Reno applauded the ruling in her favor. She gave, however, no indication that the INS, which is under her purview, was about to take any immediate action.

"The determination to grant asylum is a matter within the discretion of the Attorney General," U.S. district judge Michael Moore wrote in his decision. "She has decided the issue of who may speak for Plaintiff, and her decision. . . . is controlling as a matter of law."

Elián González was picked up at sea November 25 off the coast of Florida, one of the few survivors of a smuggler-organized boat trip from Cuba where his mother and 10 other passengers drowned. The U.S. attorney general's office immediately granted Elián temporary parole and turned him over to his granduncle Lázaro González, who, with the support of right-wing Cuban-American forces, has sought to keep the child in the United States.

The INS ruled January 5 that Juan González had sole legal authority to speak on behalf of Elián regarding his immigration status. The Clinton administration has argued from the beginning that the U.S. attorney and the INS have broad powers in determining the boy's status, at the same time that they have let the case go through several rounds in the courts over the past four months.

Moore's decision, that he has limited jurisdiction to intervene in this case, reaffirmed Reno's sweeping authority. The Miami Herald reported that it "relies heavily on previous decisions by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which would handle the relatives' appeal. That court has consistently upheld the near-absolute legal discretion granted to the INS by Congress to decide certain immigration matters without judicial second-guessing."

While the judge's ruling appeared to leave little margin for a successful appeal, Lázaro González's attorneys are evidently hoping the INS will be willing to let their legal challenge run its course before acting to send the child back to Cuba. That process could take months.

At least one Miami public school closed early the day of the ruling, supposedly in anticipation of traffic tie-ups that might be caused by massive right-wing protests of the ruling. However, only small protests materialized.

Eric Simpson is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home