The Immigration and Naturalization Service said today it has no plans to force the
 immediate return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba in the wake of a state judge's decision
 to grant emergency custody of the 6-year-old boy to his great-uncle in Miami.

 The INS last week ruled that the boy's father in Cuba should have custody, and
 gave a target date of this Friday for his return. The ruling was endorsed by President
 Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno.

 On Monday, Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Rosa Rodriguez ruled that Elian
 should remain with his U.S. relatives until March 6 so the court can hear arguments
 from Lazaro Gonzalez, his great-uncle, who is seeking temporary custody.

 ''We have no plans to take charge of him, and we have no plans to forcibly remove
 him from the home,'' INS spokesman Mike Gilhooly said today in Miami.

 The agency refused to elaborate on Gilhooly's comments, but planned to release a
 statement later in the day.

 Rodriguez said the boy's Miami relatives had shown that Elian would face ''imminent
 and irreparable harm'' if he were returned to Cuba, including the ''loss of due process
 rights and harm to his physical and mental health and emotional well-being.''

 Later, Elian's great-uncle waved a copy of the ruling and yelled ''Victory for Elian!''
 in Spanish before going inside the family's home Monday in Little Havana. If he is
 appointed Elian's guardian, he could seek asylum for the boy.

 ''Today is a great day for Elian,'' said his attorney, Spencer Eig. ''(The ruling) will
 provide Elian Gonzalez his day in court.''

 Elian was rescued from an inner tube off the coast of Florida on Thanksgiving Day,
 after a shipwreck that killed his mother, stepfather and others fleeing Cuba.

 Bernard Perlmutter, director of the University of Miami's Children and Youth Law
 Clinic, called the judge's decision îîpolitically popular'' but legally incorrect.

 He said the federal government has the sole authority to decide immigration matters
 and a state court can only intercede if Reno gives her permission. She has not done
 that. He also said the INS has the power to return Elian at any time.

 The case has touched off protests in Miami and in Cuba, where the Castro government
 condemned the ruling. At a rally in Havana on Monday, demonstrators likened Cuban
 exiles in the United States to ''beasts.'' Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, has
 demanded that his son be returned.

 Elian's relatives in Miami say they can give him a better life off the communist island.

 The judge has ordered the father to be at the March hearing, saying his ''failure
 to appear may result in a decision adverse to his interests.'' Gonzalez has said he
 would not travel to the United States to retrieve his son.

 Meanwhile, Elian returned to school today, saying he didn't have time to do his
 homework because he had stayed up too late Monday.

 On NBC's ''Today'' show this morning, Eig said: ''When the day is over, we're
 confident that Elian will stay here in the United States and ultimately will face a
 difficult choice between Florida and Florida State.''
 

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald