From staff and wire reports. CNN. March 21, 2000. Web posted at: 9:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT)
MIAMI (CNN) -- A federal district court judge ruled Tuesday that the decision to grant asylum to 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez is up to the attorney general of the United States.
"Determination to grant asylum is a matter within the discretion of the attorney general," said U.S. District Judge Michael Moore in a 50-page decision.
Elian's relatives in Miami had sued claiming the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service denied Elian his rights by not granting him an asylum hearing.
The INS had ruled that Elian's father was the only person who could speak for the 6-year-old boy in immigration matters. The father requested that his son be returned to Cuba.
The court battle stems from Elian's arrival in the United States four months ago.
The boy was found clinging to an inner tube off the Florida coast November 25. His mother and 10 other people drowned after their boat capsized en route from Cuba to the United States. Elian was one of three survivors.
Elian's father has claimed that his son was kidnapped by his mother and must be returned to him immediately. The boy's anti-Castro relatives have said he would have a better life in the United States.
"A child, Elian Gonzalez, regardless of the fact that he's 6 years old, has a right to file a petition for asylum," said Barbara Lagoa, attorney for Elian's Miami relatives.
Justice Dept. cited U.S. and international law
The Justice Department, which oversees INS, has cited both international and U.S. law in its decision that only the boy's father can make legal decisions for a child so young.
"Parents have the right to speak for their children," said Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Patricia Maher.
In Washington, U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno have come out in support of the INS order.
White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart has said the INS decision "was based on the facts of the law." He added that this matter "should be considered on the facts" and "not in the political arena."
Elian case used by both sides in political wrangle
Since his arrival, Elian's plight became the theme of regular, Cuban government-organized protests, many outside the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, in full view of U.S. diplomats.
Elian's grandmothers, who live in Cuba, were allowed to fly to the United States to visit with the boy for two hours January 26 at the Miami home of a Roman Catholic nun. The grandmothers, Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodriguez, returned to Cuba without their grandson, but were welcomed as
heroes.
Members of the U.S. Congress, who oppose Castro's regime, have come to the aid of Elian's Miami relatives. In January, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, issued a congressional subpoena for the boy to testify before Congress in February.
Burton had said he issued the subpoena with no intention of forcing Elian to testify, but to prevent the INS from forcing Elian to return home before courts could rule on the case. Traditionally, witnesses subpoenaed by Congress are not allowed to leave the United States.
But the INS has never forced its decision, and the subpoena has not been challenged.
On January 10, Florida family court Judge Rosa Rodriguez first ruled to allow Elian's great uncle temporary custody of the boy. That left it up to the federal courts to decide whether state courts can overrule an INS decision, leading to Moore's ruling.
Correspondent Susan Candiotti and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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