By Diana Melo. .c The Associated Press
MIAMI, 1 (AP) - The fight over whether Elian Gonzalez should stay in the United States or be returned to his father in Cuba is headed back to Congress.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to hear today from Marisleysis Gonzalez, a cousin representing Miami relatives trying to get U.S. citizenship for the 6-year-old boy, and Manuel Gonzalez, Elian's great uncle who believes the boy should return to Cuba.
Also scheduled to testify is Alina Fernandez, the daughter of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Fernandez, Castro's out-of-wedlock daughter who fled the country in 1993, is one of her father's fiercest critics.
``We are taking a general overview of life in Cuba,'' said Jeanne Lopatto, a spokeswoman for Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who is the committee chairman.
Also on the panel is Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., who is the chief sponsor of legislation to grant Elian U.S. citizenship.
The boy has been the center of an international custody dispute since he was found clinging to an inner tube on Thanksgiving Day off the Florida coast. His mother and 10 others traveling with him drowned in an effort to flee Cuba. He is currently staying with his Miami relatives.
Elian will not make the trip to Washington.
``He is going to school and trying to lead a normal life,'' said Roger Bernstein, attorney for Elian's Miami family. ``We want a resolution to this.''
Last month, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle suggested that sentiment is growing in both parties in the Senate for allowing the boy to return to his father in Cuba.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., had once pledged to bring a bill conferring U.S. citizenship on the boy to a quick Senate vote but backed away from the plans.
The boy's two grandmothers made personal appeals to allow Elian to be returned to Cuba in visits earlier this year to members of Congress.
Lazaro Gonzalez, another great uncle, has sued the Immigration and Naturalization Service in federal court, challenging the agency's decision to send the boy back to Cuba.
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore plans to hear arguments in the federal case next week.
AP-NY-03-01-00 0230EST
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