COMPILED BY MADELINE BARO DIAZ

 Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives and the Justice Department awaited word
this afternoon from a federal appeals court deciding whether to issue an injunction
to keep the 6-year-old shipwreck survivor in the United States.

 Meanwhile, the family issued a statement this afternoon saying the Immigration
and Naturalization Service has no authority to order Lazaro Gonzalez, the great
uncle who has been caring for Elian since he was found on an inner tube on
Thanksgiving Day, to turn over the boy.

 "It is especially ironic for the INS to insist it has jurisdiction to dictate the actions
of Lazaro Gonzalez when the INS has severed its relationship with Lazaro
concerning the status of Elian,'' the statement read, referring to the agency's
decision last week to revoke Lazaro Gonzalez's custody of the boy.

 The statement further said that the INS "cannot credibly claim that it can legally
force Lazaro to take actions that he believes will cause serious harm to Elian.''

 INS spokeswoman Maria Cardona said she had not received a copy of the
statement by late this afternoon.

 But all eyes today were on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta
which is deciding whether to grant Elian's Miami relatives' request for an injunction
that would keep Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, from taking him to Cuba
while the court hears an appeal from the Miami family.

 The Atlanta court is hearing the relatives' appeal demanding a political asylum
 hearing for Elian. Oral arguments in that appeal are set for May 11.

 The Justice Department has asked the court to remove a temporary injunction
 issued by one of the appelate judges last week as well as order Lazaro Gonzalez
 to turn the boy over to his father.

 Even if the family gets the injunction, such an order would not keep the
 government from delivering the boy to his father, although it would probably keep
 both of them from returning to Cuba immediately.

 At the Gonzalez's Little Havana home today, about 50 or 60 demonstrators
 gathered in the hot sun. Lazaro Gonzalez handed out bottled water to the
 demonstrators, who applauded.

 "Lazaro, we're with you!" one elderly woman yelled in Spanish .

 The crowd then began shouting "Lazaro, Lazaro, Lazaro.''

 Nestor Iglesias, Gov. Jeb Bush's representative in South Florida, also dropped by
 the house for a visit. Bush spokesman Justin Sayfie said there was no official
 reason why Iglesias went there.

 "It's more along the lines of a courtesy visit to the family," Sayfie said. "There are
 no tea leaves to read here."

 The Miami relatives and Juan Miguel Gonzalez got into an escalating war of words
 over the weekend, culminating with the father's appearance on "60 Minutes" last
 night.

 On the program, Juan Miguel Gonzalez called his Miami relatives child abusers
 and kidnappers and said they had turned the boy against him. He denied
 allegations that the Cuban government was not allowing him to speak freely.

 Elian's Miami relatives have filed affidavits alleging Gonzalez abused his former
 wife and Elian, a charge Gonzalez denied.

 Herald staff writers Karen Branch and Ana Acle and Herald wire services
 contributed to this report.