BY ANA ACLE, ALFONSO CHARDY AND JAY WEAVER

 Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Rosa Rodriguez issued a blockbuster ruling Monday
 that reverberated through Miami, Washington and Havana -- granting emergency
 custody of Elian Gonzalez to his great-uncle until a full hearing can be held on
 whether the 6-year-old would be harmed if he were sent back to his father in
 Cuba.

 The Miami family court judge's ruling, which brought tears of joy to great-uncle
 Lazaro Gonzalez in the courtroom, set the stage for a dramatic conflict between
 the boy's Miami relatives, the Cuban father and the Immigration and Naturalization
 Service -- a showdown that legal experts say should favor the federal agency and
 father.

 Last week, INS decided that the boy's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, 31, is a fit
 parent who has the only authority to say whether the boy can stay or return. And
 the father, who was challenged by the Miami relatives in family court, wants Elian
 with him in Cuba.

 But Rodriguez said that under Florida law, she had the authority to issue a
 temporary protective order so that Elian can stay here until his Cuban father and
 Miami relatives can square off at a March 6 hearing to determine whether Elian
 faces the threat of physical and emotional harm back home -- as alleged by his
 great-uncle.

 The boy's father, however, has reiterated that he has no intention of coming to
 Miami to pick up his son, further complicating both the INS and judge's conflicting
 decisions.

 Rodriguez said Lazaro Gonzalez's request for custody ``contains sufficient verified
 allegations that, if emergency relief is not granted and Elian is returned to Cuba,
 he would be subjected to imminent and irreparable harm, including loss of due
 process rights and harm to his physical and mental health and emotional
 well-being.''

 Rodriguez did not explain how she verified the allegations.

 ASYLUM REQUEST

 While the full-blown custody hearing looms, Elian's great-uncle can now ask his
 team of lawyers to file a new political asylum request on Elian's behalf.

 ``In the name of Elian Gonzalez, we wish to convey our deep thanks to all the
 people involved in this effort,'' Lazaro Gonzalez, 49, said. ``May God protect and
 help all of you. We have always believed in the laws of this country. The child
 thanks all of you as well. You will see that Elian eventually will become a man
 with a great career.''

 It remains to be seen how the INS will respond to Rodriguez's ruling, or whether
 the agency will even consider Elian's new asylum request. Last week, the agency
 allowed the boy's father to withdraw his Miami relatives' original asylum
 application.

 INS spokeswoman Maria Cardona said INS and Justice Department lawyers were
 reviewing Rodriguez's ruling and said the agency would have no immediate
 reaction.

 Little Elian, whose innocent face graces the cover of Time magazine this week,
 has been thrust into a cold-war custody battle since he survived a smuggling boat
 trip across the Florida Straits that cost the lives of his mother and 10 others
 during Thanksgiving week.

 OPINION POLL

 A new ABC News national poll released Monday said more Americans support
 the INS decision to return the boy to his father in Cuba. According to the poll, 52
 percent now say the boy should go home to his father, up from 46 percent in a
 poll taken before the INS decision was announced. Thirty-six percent say he
 should remain with his relatives in the United States.

 The Cuban American National Foundation and Miami congressional leaders
 lobbied U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., to issue a subpoena to Elian for a Feb. 10
 House committee hearing to keep the boy from being returned to Cuba.

 ``In the name of the community which loves liberty and respects justice, we urge
 the Clinton/Gore administration to respect this ruling,'' said Jorge Mas Santos,
 chairman of the influential foundation. ``It is a great day for justice. The court
 made the decision that this community has wanted from Day 1 -- that Elian have
 his day in court.''

 But almost all legal experts said that the Miami relatives have no ``legal standing,''
 or right, to fight for Elian's custody in the face of the INS decision. It says the
 father is the only one who can legally represent the boy on immigration matters.

 LEGAL TUG OF WAR

 Temple University law Professor Jan Ting, a former assistant INS commissioner in
 the Bush administration, said the agency has federal law on its side that trumps
 any state judge's decision in Miami family court.

 ``INS can legally ignore the judge's decision because state court has no
 jurisdiction over a federal agency or over immigration matters,'' Ting said. ``If the
 agency does not want to go that route, it can to go to federal court and have a
 federal judge take over the case and vacate the state court's ruling.''

 But a Miami attorney who specializes in family law said Rodriguez's decision
 could test the powers of federalism versus states' rights.

 ``Federal court would have jurisdiction over immigration matters, but not family
 matters,'' attorney Richard Milstein said. ``So, that's where the tug of war would
 come into play. We have a true federalism issue here.''

 Milstein said that Rodriguez tried to preserve the status quo by keeping Elian
 here temporarily because ``she has no knowledge if he would be able to return
 here for a full hearing on the family custody dispute.

 ``If we erase the extraordinary circumstances, she would have ruled the same
 way, because she wanted to maintain the status quo to determine what's in the
 best interest of the child at that future hearing.''

 PROTESTS HALTED

 After the judge's decision, Cuban exile activists Jose Basulto and Ramon Saul
 Sanchez announced that given Rodriguez's ruling, continued demonstrations --
 including traffic blockades on Miami streets -- are suspended.

 ``The campaign of civil action is now in a holding pattern,'' Basulto said. ``The
 reason is that finally we have accomplished what this community wanted all along
 -- Elian will have his day in court.''

 Elian's relatives and supporters back at the relatives' home in Little Havana
 rejoiced over Rodriguez's ruling.

 After hearing the news, neighbor Ela Caraballo, 68, fell to her knees on the
 sidewalk outside the Gonzalez's modest stucco home in Little Havana. ``Thank
 you, God. Please bless this house and this family,'' she said. ``I've been praying
 for a month; this is the best news.''

 Monday night, about two dozen people said the rosary by the light of street lights
 and TV cameras. The half-hour prayer session was led by the Rev. Juan Ramon
 Garcia, of Mision Cristo Rey.

 Inside, Elian chatted on the phone with his father in Cuba and played Nintendo,
 said family spokesman Armando Gutierrez. He added the family did not discuss
 Monday's court decision with Juan Miguel Gonzalez. ``The family doesn't discuss
 that stuff'' with him.

 In Havana, meanwhile, thousands of people rallied outside the U.S. diplomatic
 mission calling for Elian's return.

 ``We knew it would happen,'' Lucia Blanco, a nurse, said about the Miami judge's
 ruling. ``We have a lot of experience in front of this building fighting for many
 causes.''

 Marta Padilla agreed, saying ``the Cuban mafia [in Miami] comes up with its
 tricks.''

 ``The latest trick in their long series of tricks makes no difference -- he will be
 returned. It's that simple.''

 Herald staff writers Frank Davies, Andres Viglucci and Marika Lynch contributed
 to this report.
 

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald