Elián González

Elián González (born December 6, 1993) was at the center of a heated custody and immigration battle between Cuba, the United States government, his father, his Miami relatives, and the Cuban-American community of Miami in 2000. The climactic stage of this prolonged battle was the April 22, 2000 seizure of six-year-old Elian by federal agents, which drew the ire and criticism of many in the Cuban-American community and presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush and prompted a Senate inquiry. However, after the Miami relatives' appeals met several rejections by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, and a refusal to hear the case by the U.S. Supreme Court, Elian González returned to Cuba with his father, Juan Miguel González, on the afternoon of June 28, 2000.

Elián's Journey, and The Battle For Custody Begins

In November 1999, Elián, his mother, and twelve others fled Cuba on a small aluminum boat with a bad engine; Elián's mother and ten others died in the crossing. The boat was operated by his mother's boyfriend, who resided in Miami and smuggled Cubans into the U.S. for money, a felony under federal law. Elián and the other two survivors completed the journey across the Florida Straits on an inner tube. Elián was rescued at sea by two fishermen who then gave him to the United States Coast Guard.

Related Topics:
1999 - Felony - Florida Straits - Inner tube - Fishermen - United States Coast Guard

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The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) released Elián to his great uncle, Lázaro. Lázaro's daughter, Marisleysis (first cousin once removed to Elián), became something of a maternal figure to Elián. Marisleysis also became the primary spokeswoman for the Miami relatives as she had the strongest command of the English language. INS officials told reporters neither they nor the State Department had any legal say in the matter. It was demanded that the boy be returned to Cuba to the care of his father, touching off the firestorm that ended only when Elián was taken at gunpoint by federal agents who forcibly entered his great-uncle's house. Elián was flown back to Havana with his father, Juan Miguel González. Quintana, Juan Miguel's wife and their son, and a cousin, on June 28, 2000.

Related Topics:
Immigration and Naturalization Service - English language - State Department - Havana - June 28 - 2000

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Elián's mother, Elizabeth, took him without Juan Miguel's knowledge, so in addition to the case's political refugee overtones, it was also a child custody battle. The debate was whether U.S. immigration laws mandated he be returned to his father, as Juan Miguel could speak for Elián only if it was assumed he was not under duress from the Cuban Government.

Related Topics:
Refugee - Child custody - Duress

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For much of early 2000, Elián's plight dominated the news in the United States and in Cuba. On April 14, a video was released in which Elián "tells" Juan Miguel that he wants to stay in the U.S. Many considered that he had been coached, as a male voice was heard off-camera directing the young boy. In a September 2005 interview with 60 Minutes Elian claimed that during his stay in the U.S. his family members were "telling me bad things about ", and "were also telling me to tell him that I did not want to go back to Cuba and I always told them I wanted to".

Related Topics:
2000 - April 14 - September 2005 - 60 Minutes

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The Miami family staged an elaborate campaign for sympathy as Elián went to Disney World one day, then met with politicians the next. Despite these efforts, opinion polls showed that over two-thirds of the people in the United States thought Elián should be returned to his father. On April 19, the 11th Circuit court in Atlanta ruled that Elián must stay in the United States until the Miami Gonzálezes could appeal for an asylum hearing in May.

Related Topics:
Disney World - April 19 - Circuit court - Atlanta

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