With court ruling, Elian may go home this week

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JUNE 24. A U.S. Appeals Court has said it will not reconsider its decision against granting Elian Gonzalez a political asylum hearing. This means that the six-year old Cuban boy could be sent back home as early as next week. The 12-member Appeals Court notified that the injunction on Elian's father, Mr. Juan Miguel Gonzalez, preventing him from taking his son back to Cuba will expire at 4 pm on June 28.

The Miami relatives of Elian, who had asked the Circuit Court to overturn a three-judge panel ruling earlier this month, have decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. ``The family does not feel defeated and they still have faith in God that the Supreme Court will accept the appeal in the same way God saved Elian from drowning,'' a spokesman for the Miami relatives said. At least four of the nine Supreme Court Justices must agree to hear an appeal. A single judge of the apex court can grant a stay or refer the issue of a stay to the full court. But the Supreme Court hears only about one per cent of the appeals it receives.

Legal experts say that the Elian's relatives should accept the reality that further attempts to prolong this matter is only an exercise in futility. In fact, while writing the final opinion on the matter, the judge emphatically said the Appeals Court would not entertain further motions for a stay and that future appeals should be directed only to the Supreme Court.

The Justice Department has expressed satisfaction with the turn of events. ``Now that the court has conclusively upheld our decision, I am hopeful that the father and son will soon be able to move on with their lives together,'' the Attorney-General, Ms. Janet Reno said. It has to be recalled that after several weeks of trying to enforce an order of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, federal agents forcibly removed Elian from his Miami home on April 22, setting off protests in the area and further legal action.

Elian and his father have been staying in the Washington D.C. area waiting for the legal procedures to be completed.

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Section  : International
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