By DAVID STOUT

          WASHINGTON -- A boy rescued at sea and brought to the
          United States must be returned to Cuba to live with his father,
          the Immigration and Naturalization Service said today, ruling in a
          poignant tug-of-war that blended international politics and age-old human
          emotions.

          "This little boy, who has been through so much, belongs with his father,"
          the I.N.S. Commissioner, Doris Meissner, said. She said the 6-year-old
          boy, Elian Gonzalez, must be reunited with his father by Jan. 14.

          Ms. Meissner said immigration officials made their decision after two
          extensive interviews in Cuba with the boy's father, Juan Miguel González.
          She said the father had provided vivid and extensive details of his bond
          with Elian, including family photographs and medical and school records.

          Returning Elian to his father is "the right decision legally, it's the right
          decision morally," Ms. Meissner said.

          Acknowledging that the decision will be unpopular in some quarters, and
          expressing the hope that there will be no resistance to it, she urged
          people to "respect the bond between parent and child and respect the
          laws of the United States." She said Attorney General Janet Reno had
          been notified of the I.N.S. decision and backed it. The immigration
          agency is a branch of the Justice Department.

          The fate of Elian has been not only a family issue but a political one since
          a 17-foot aluminum boat carrying the boy and a dozen other people
          capsized in the Caribbean six weeks ago as the people were trying to
          cross from Cuba to Florida. Ten people were killed, including Elian's
          mother and stepfather. Elian survived, along with two adults, and was
          rescued on Nov. 25 after clinging to an inner tube for two days.

          Thus, Elian unwittingly became the focus of an international incident as
          well as a custody fight, with anti-Castro groups and politicians in Miami
          embracing him and thousands of Cubans protesting in Havana that he
          should be returned to the island nation.

          Elian's great-uncle and other relatives of his father have wanted the child
          to stay with them for what they see as a chance for a better life. But Mr.
          González, who was divorced from Elian's mother, and both sets of
          grandparents have wanted him returned to their hometown, Cárdenas, a
          port east of Havana.

          Ms. Meissner said the father "wants Elian returned to him as soon as
          possible." She said her agency had chosen the deadline of Jan. 14 to
          assure both promptness and enough time for arrangements to be worked
          out.

          The Commissioner said the boy could be turned over to his father in one
          of several ways. Elian's father might be granted permission to come to the
          United States to pick up his son, a possibility that has been discussed
          with the Cuban government. Or one of Elian's relatives might simply take
          him to Cuba. Or a third party -- a church organization, for instance --
          might ease the transfer.

          "The I.N.S. is ready to work with the family and others to make
          appropriate arrangements for Elian to be reunited with his father," Ms.
          Meissner said. "We believe this decision can be carried out without
          I.N.S.'s taking charge of Elian."

          That portion of the Commissioner's statement seemed to address the
          possibility that Elian's relatives in Florida might resist sending him back,
          perhaps even to the point of secluding him. Ms. Meissner fielded several
          questions on that issue, stating again and again that she hoped people
          would respect American and international law and "the bond between
          parent and child."

          The decision touched off a protest in Miami, where about 300 people
          gathered in front of the Immigration and Naturalization Service building.
          Protesters sang the Cuban national anthem and chanted, "Freedom,
          freedom."

          "His mother died coming here and he should stay in her honor," said
          Lester Diaz, a young Cuban-American.

          Another protester, Enrique Colina, who arrived from Cuba in 1961,
          carried an American flag. "They want to send him back to a country
          without freedom," Mr. Colina said. "That's why I carry this flag."

          The Commissioner said the immigration office, having recognized the
          father's right to speak for his son, would not acknowledge any asylum
          petition that the boy's great-uncle in Miami might seek to file to keep him
          in the United States.

          The days ahead hold several possibilities, not all of them easily
          anticipated. The Commissioner was asked what her agency would do if
          the father arrived in the United States, ostensibly to pick up his son, then
          asked for permission to stay here with him.

          "I don't think we can speculate on that," she said.

          In the face of repeated questioning about possible resistance to Elian's
          return to Cuba, the Commissioner promised official flexibility. "One step
          at a time," she said at one point. "Let's let this process go forward."

          President Clinton said today that politics had played no part in the
          immigration agency's decision. "I told you when we started this that I
          would do my best to keep this decision out of politics," he said at the
          White House. "We have done that, we have not been involved in it."

          The case has already become a domestic political issue, and may
          become a hotter one. Senator John McCain of Arizona, seeking the
          Republican presidential nomination, has spoken in favor of keeping the
          boy in the United States.

          And today, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, Mr. McCain's rival for the
          Republican nomination, said he disagreed with the immigration agency.

          "What ought to happen is that the Cuban boy's dad ought to come to
          America, and he ought to get a taste of freedom in America, and then he
          ought to make a decision about what is best for his boy," Mr. Bush said.

          "I don't trust Fidel Castro. I'm not so sure this man is making the right
          kind of judgment in the right kind of circumstance, and I think it's a
          mistake for the I.N.S. to send the boy back to Cuba."

          James Nicholson, chairman of the Republican National Committee,
          offered to pay for bringing Elian's entire family to Miami "so that we can
          learn for sure what his father wants -- free of Communist coercion."

          Ms. Meissner said today that the issue of coercion had been addressed,
          but she repeated that American officials had found no sign that Mr.
          González was anything but a loving father eager to be reunited with his
          son.

          Ms. Meissner deflected a question about whether her office had
          considered the possible political difficulties for the Clinton Administration,
          repeating that adherence to the law and parental rights had governed the
          decision.

          Joe Lockhart, President Clinton's spokesman, said the President believed
          the immigration service had handled the matter fairly. "They gathered the
          facts in a very comprehensive way and applied the relevant rules and
          regulations and law fairly," Mr. Lockhart said.

          J. Kelly Ryan, a lawyer for the immigration agency, said any court
          challenge to the agency's decision was "a separate matter."