BY JAY WEAVER

 The legal game of chicken between the U.S. government and lawyers for Elian
 Gonzalez's relatives may be mystifying to many, but it ultimately comes down to
 one legal principle: The Immigration and Naturalization Service has the authority
 to dictate the terms of the negotiations.

 The boy's relatives may have the right to pursue their court appeal challenging
 a federal judge's decision paving the way for the government to return Elian
 to his father in Cuba.

 But the INS has the greater power to ignore the relatives' appeal, revoke the
 boy's immigration parole allowing him to stay here and send him back home
 immediately.

 The INS can even ignore the federal appeals court's schedule for arguments
 in the case the week of May 8 -- unless a court grants an emergency stay putting
 U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore's ruling for the government on hold. And
 the Gonzalez legal team has not yet sought a stay.

 Lawyers for Elian's Miami relatives, who are seeking an asylum hearing for the
 6-year-old, said they would consider only seeking the stay if the INS actually
 revokes the boy's immigration parole and demands that they turn him over to
 authorities.

 During the tense negotiations, immigration officials said that in the interest of
 fairness, they were willing not to revoke the boy's parole during the appeals
 process as long as Elian's great-uncle in Miami agrees to turn over the boy if he
 loses the appeal.

 ``What the government has offered is a de facto stay during the period of the
 appeal,'' said Holland and Knight lawyer Daniel Pearson, who specializes in
 appellate law. ``The fact is, these people are getting a stay until the 11th Circuit
 Court rules. That's something they might not have gotten on their own.''

 But there is a sticking point to the government's concession. The INS wants
 assurances from Lazaro Gonzalez that he will hand over the boy after that likely
 loss, unless his lawyers can obtain an emergency order from the U.S. Supreme
 Court blocking his return to Cuba.

 Gonzalez and his attorneys have not agreed to this term, which must be resolved
 by today, INS officials said.

 The great-uncle's lawyers know that if they fail to obtain an emergency injunction
 from the high court, their appeals process would end immediately. And the INS,
 having given the Gonzalez family its day in court, would then carry out its
 decision to send Elian back to Cuba.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald