The ruling leaves the immediate question of Elian's custody back in the hands of the Justice Department. Reno is free to send marshals in to get the boy and reunite him with his father, but the court's decision may make it politically harder for her to order action because the Little Havana community believes it has won a big victory, and could become even more volatile if the feds try to remove Elian from Miami.
Quotes about elians (10 Quotes)
Mediation, not confrontation, is what is in young Elian's best interest at this critical point in time,
Elian's legacy is, in part, the fact that he brought attention through his tragedy to the relationship with Cuba, ... That door has been opened, and that's the good news. And through the door we plan to push a lot of other issues.
The Justice Department's daily threat to revoke Elian's legal permission to remain in this country is an outrageous tactic. It is a scheme to short-circuit a judicial process in which even the most heinous of criminals are given the right to appeal.
That picture that they showed with the father, that is not Elian. That hair is not Elian's.
We all feel very strongly that Elian's life will be destroyed if he is sent to the custody of Fidel Castro in Cuba. That's what this is about, protecting this child from harm.
When we have received assurances that Juan Miguel will be able to take custody of his son, but under circumstances that require him to remain in this country for a period of time, we will also be seeking permission for a support group of Elian's classmates, teachers and doctors to come to the United States to help smooth the transition,
The Miami relatives also failed to persuade the court that no Cuban medical or mental health personnel should have access to the child, an attempt to counteract the father's efforts to create a Cuban environment by bringing in Elian's former kindergarten teacher and a 10-year-old cousin. They will be arriving shortly and joining the boy and his family and four more playmates a parent for each and a pediatrician are expected to follow soon. The court would have found it difficult to rule that Elian could not be examined by mental health professionals from his own country, ... While the Miami relatives are strongly anti-Cuba, Elian's father is not, and in the end it's likely that the court will give him the ultimate say in what happens to his son.
We are pleased that the court has sustained our judgment that Elian should be reunited with his father, ... The court's decision reaffirms our position that only Elian's father can speak for his son on federal immigration matters.
We're not calling the people out as long as we see that Elian's case remains in the courts and the government is not moving to suddenly take Elian back to Cuba.