WASHINGTON -- With new hope that a long-running custody standoff may be near a conclusion, Cuban diplomats are preparing for the arrival here of Juan Miguel Gonzalez as negotiators attempt to work out the details of how he will be reunited with his son Elian.
The State Department issued a visa to the elder Gonzalez on Monday as the Justice Department dropped a threat to revoke Elian's right to remain in the United States. It was unclear Tuesday where or when the father would meet his son, who has been living with relatives in Miami since he was rescued off the Florida coast more than four months ago. Officials said one possibility was that Elian's reunion with his father would take place in Miami.The relatives planned to ask the federal government Tuesday to allow a panel of psychologists to determine whether the boy should be returned to Cuba.
"We have got to keep trying to reach out to what we believe are people (the Immigration and Naturalization Service) that want to act honorably and want to do the right thing," said Kendall Coffey, an attorney for the Miami relatives.
Marisleysis Gonzalez, a cousin who has been helping care for him, said she still has not told Elian that his father is coming for him. The last time she mentioned the possibility, she said, the boy cried through a weekend and the father did not show up.
"As a precaution, I will not tell him until everything is certain." When someone mentions that his father might be coming, she said, "All he asks me is 'please don't let them take me.' " She was hospitalized Tuesday after becoming ill following an interview.
The fate of the boy continues a prime topic for U.S. politicians.
Vice President Al Gore, who has taken heat from some fellow Democrats for advocating permanent residency for the boy, said Tuesday that the father should be allowed to return the son to Cuba "if the father says on free soil that he believes that the son should go back to Cuba with him." Gore insisted on NBC's "Today" that his position has not changed.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination, told "Today": "The ideal arrangement would be dual citizenship, where the young boy as he is growing up can decide which country he wants to live in."
In granting permission for Juan Miguel Gonzalez to come to the United States, the State Department also granted visas for his wife, their infant son, a male cousin of Elian's, a pediatrician and a kindergarten teacher. All would initially come to Washington, D.C., and remain at the home of Fernando Remirez, Cuba's top diplomat here.
The State Department said it was reviewing visa requests from 22 other Cubans, of whom 12 were classmates of Elian. One request was from Ricardo Alarcon, who is president of the Cuban National Assembly and a top adviser to President Fidel Castro on U.S. issues.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, asked Tuesday why the six were chosen, said, "The point was to try to make it a group that was useful for the child. We have to keep the interest of the child central here."
Almost two-thirds of Americans approve of the decision to send the boy back to Cuba to be with his father, according to a Gallup Poll released Tuesday. Just over half of those polled said the Clinton administration is making its decision based on what it feels is in the best interest of U.S. relations with Cuba.
The Justice Department had threatened to order Elian's deportation by Tuesday unless his relatives in Miami agreed to accept the outcome of pending court decision on whether the boy should be remain in the United States or be reunited with his father in Cuba. He has been staying at the home of his great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez.
But Robert Wallis, the Immigration Service's director for the Miami district, said Monday, "Revocation of Elian's parole tomorrow has been superseded by the expected arrival of Juan Miguel Gonzalez in the United States. Once Mr. Gonzalez comes, the INS will begin transferring parole care from Lazaro Gonzalez to the boy's father."
Wallis added that the transfer of temporary custody "does not mean that the child will be immediately removed from the home of the great-uncle. Instead it is our hope to begin a smooth and orderly process that will create as little disruption as possible to Elian."
Lazaro Gonzalez said Monday night, "If the father comes or not we don't know, but he is welcome here. Don't ever doubt the Gonzalez family has their door open for their family."
But the sense of conciliation did not extend to some in Miami who believe it would be a travesty for Elian to be returned to a communist country.
Outside the great-uncle's home, protesters practiced forming a human chain and vowed they would stop at nothing to keep the boy from returning to Cuba.
"They would have to go over the bodies of all of us Cubans who are here," said Maria Gonzalez, 70, who is not related to the boy. "They would have to kill us all."
Many protesters stamped their feet as Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Miami-based anti-Castro group Democracy Movement, used a bullhorn to call for Cuban-Americans to come to the home to protect Elian. The Miami area has nearly 800,000 Cuban-American residents.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush met with safety officials to determine how to respond to possible unrest if Elian is removed from the Little Havana home.
Despite Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas' statement last week that local authorities would not assist the federal government if it attempted to remove Elian, the county police department said it is ready to respond to protests.
On the Net: INS: www.ins.usdoj.gov
Miami relatives: libertyforelian.org
Cuban newspaper Granma: www.granma.cu