Smith. Burton was the first to act by subpoenaing Elian to appear before his House Government Reform Committee. He did so in order to delay the INS decisions which Burton felt was made in haste. Senator Bob Smith saw the issue in clear terms. He felt Elian being sent home was tantamount to slapping his dead mother in the face “After meeting with Elian, he announced that the six year old boy preferred the United States to Cuba and that the INS had failed to consider the boy’s father’s alleged consent to his ex-wife’s plan to defect with their son. He vowed to do anything in his power to keep Elian in the United States” (Balch 2).
The boy’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, claimed custody rights but he refuses to come to the United States. Many believe this is because he is not free to leave; others speculate that he does not wish to be detained in the U.S. until the case is resolved. There are also legal agreements regarding U.S. immigration which affect this case. When immigrants flee to America from democratic countries like Haiti or Jamaica without valid immigration papers, they are sent back to their country. However, the scenario is different when it comes to Cuban refugees who are viewed as fleeing a Communist regime and in need of U.S. asylum:
Up to 20,000 Cubans are allowed to legally emigrate to the United States according to a 1994 deal struck with the Cuban government. Under the agreement, Cubans intercepted at sea without immigration papers or valid reasons for asylum are returned to their country, just as the Haitians or any others would be. The difference is that once a Cuban reaches a U.S. shore, it is presumed that he or she will receive asylum, so the refugee is briefly interviewed and released. Because Cuba is a Communist country, ruled by a dictator, it is assumed that many will have legitimate reasons to defect.
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