From staff and wire reports
MIAMI (CNN) -- Hours after U.S. District Judge Michael Moore threw
out a political-asylum lawsuit that cleared the way for 6-year-old Elian
Gonzalez to be returned to his father in Cuba, lawyers for the boy's Miami
relatives filed a notice of their intention to appeal the decision.
Kendall Coffey, one of the attorneys representing the relatives, said the
11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will be asked to review
one of three elements in Moore's ruling.
"A critical element that held that even though the statute meant any person
is entitled to asylum, according to the judge, that 'any person' did not
include
Elian Gonzalez," Coffey said.
Earlier Tuesday, Moore wrote that the litigation by the Miami relatives
was "well-intended" but it could bring about unintended harm because
of "the reality that each passing day is another day lost between Juan
Gonzalez and his son."
In his 50-page ruling which also was posted on the Internet, Moore
said only the U.S. attorney general can grant political asylum to keep
the boy in the United States.
Reno: Elian's return will be prompt, fair and orderly
"We are pleased that the court has sustained our judgment that Elian
should be reunited with his father," U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
said after Moore's ruling. "The court's decision reaffirms our position
that only Elian's father can speak for his son on federal immigration matters."
The boy's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, has demanded that his son be
returned to him.
Gregory Craig, the attorney representing Juan Gonzalez, urged the Miami
relatives to respect the wishes of the father, Immigration and Naturalization
Service, Reno and the court.
"They have all concluded that this 6-year-old boy belongs with his father,"
Craig said in a written statement. "Any more delay would be unconscionable."
Attorney Roger Bernstein said Elian's U.S. relatives have no intention
at
this time to ask for an emergency stay of the INS order to reunite Elian
with his father in Cuba.
"We have no indication the Justice Department intends to remove Elian
right away," Bernstein said.
In Havana, a government statement read on state television Tuesday
warned Cubans "not to fall into false optimism or excessive hope" and
said the battle had not ended to "achieve the return of the kidnapped boy."
Reno said the U.S. government would seek to return the boy to Cuba in
a prompt, fair and orderly manner, but she declined to say whether the
department had a target date for returning the boy.
The attorney general also said she understood "the very strong emotions
that have surrounded this case from the very beginning." But, she added,
"I have every confidence that the (Cuban-American) community will accept
the court's decision and will support the process that reunites Elian with
his father."
Other Justice Department officials said they would take no action that
could
provoke a confrontation with Miami's large Cuban exile community.
'Elian's life will be destroyed'
Elian was at school Tuesday when the judge issued his decision.
His fate has been debated since he was found clinging to an inner tube
off
Florida on November 25. His mother and 10 other people drowned when
their boat capsized during an attempt to reach the United States. Elian,
whose
parents were divorced, was one of three survivors.
Attorneys for Elian's U.S. relatives insist the boy would be psychologically
harmed if he is taken away from the Miami family that has cared for him
since his rescue at sea four months ago.
"We all feel very strongly that Elian's life will be destroyed if he is
sent to
the custody of Fidel Castro in Cuba," said Spencer Eig, a lawyer for
Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, who has temporary custody of the
boy. "That's what this is about, protecting this child from harm."
Added Coffey, "There is abundant evidence in (INS records) ... that it
would be to the irreparable harm of this 6-year-old boy to be forcibly
removed to Cuba right now."
Coffey also said he hoped the appeals court would consider not only
legal issues but also "the best interests of the child."
Elian's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez said she had faith that Elian would
be
allowed to remain in the United States. "To this point," she said, federal
decision-makers "haven't looked at what he wants, what he feels and what
his needs are."
Judge questioned early INS decision
Reno backed January's ruling by the INS which said that Elian be returned
to his father in Cuba, a decision also backed by President Clinton. The
INS
order was put on hold pending the court fight. Reno, as head of the federal
government's Justice Department, oversees the INS.
While any illegal migrant may apply for political asylum, INS officials
said
Elian is too young; only a parent or guardian can file an application for
him.
During the three-hour hearing earlier this month, Moore asked why the INS
did not simply reject the asylum application filed on Elian's behalf by
the
great-uncle and return him to his father.
Government lawyers said the boy already was traumatized by his ordeal at
sea, and that it made sense at the time to release the boy to the custody
of
relatives who showed up at the hospital.
Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman, Correspondents Mark Potter and Pierre
Thomas, The Associated Press
and Reuters contributed to this report.