[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S99-S102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT ELIAN GONZALEZ SHOULD BE REUNITED 
                 WITH HIS FATHER, JUAN GONZALEZ OF CUBA

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a resolution on behalf 
of myself and my colleagues Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein, and 
Senator Durbin. Because I have not solicited cosponsors of this 
resolution, others may wish to add their names at a later time.
  This resolution is virtually identical to a resolution that has been 
introduced in the other body by Congressman Rangel of New York, along 
with a number of other Members of the House. I am told that support for 
that resolution is bipartisan in nature.
  I am going to read the resolution into the Record. That is not a 
normal event, but I think the wording of it is so significant that it 
deserves to be read into the Record. The resolution deals with the case 
of 6-year-old Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, who we all know tragically 
lost his mother in that dreadful boating incident, an accident as they 
left Cuba and sought to come to the United States. Young Elian spent 
some time in the water alone and survived that tragedy. Today, after 
weeks of this going on, this matter has attracted national and 
international attention.
  Yesterday, together with Senators Leahy, Boxer, Durbin, and Hagel, I 
met for about an hour with the two grandmothers of this 6-year-old boy. 
I was convinced before the meeting--and even more so afterwards--that 
this is a matter which ought to be resolved immediately by reuniting 
this young boy with his father in Cuba.
  I am terribly upset and worried that this matter may end up as a 
subject of debate in the Senate. I have no intention whatsoever of 
pursuing the resolution that I introduce today. In fact, it is my 
strong desire not to pursue it--unless the Senate is forced to address 
legislation that would extend citizenship or permanent resident status 
to this young boy. Should such legislation come to the Floor of the 
Senate, then I will offer this resolution as an alternative.
  My sincere hope is that the leadership of the Senate and of the House 
will think again before deciding to make this child a focal point in a 
debate about the current regime in Cuba. He really should not be, in my 
view. The Senate of the United States and the House of Representatives 
ought not to utilize this child as a way of advancing the debate on 
Cuba. This would be a great travesty, in my view. Conferring, by 
special legislation, citizenship or permanent resident status on this 
boy would, I believe, set a dangerous precedent. It would violate 
longstanding legal processes. Furthermore, it would violate a cherished 
principle ingrained in the Constitution and laws of our country, and 
embraced by all of us here--namely, that the best interests of a child 
is normally served by that child being with his or her parents.
  Tragically, this young boy lost his mother. His father, we are told, 
was a good father--and is a good father. This boy ought to be returned 
to his dad and be home with him, and the quicker the better. So I hope 
the matter will not come before the Senate.
  I have great respect for our majority leader. Most of my colleagues 
know this. We have our disagreements, but the Senator from Mississippi, 
the majority leader, and I are good friends, and I cherish that 
friendship. I urge him to think again about this before deciding to ask 
this body to cast votes on extending citizenship to an infant. I do not 
think it is a wise move. I think it is wrong for the Senate to do so, 
and I hope a different decision will be reached and this matter is left 
to be resolved in the courts where it is now. That is the best way, in 
my view, to expedite this process so this boy can be returned to his 
father and cease to be a pawn in a larger geopolitical debate.
  Let me, if I can, read the wording of this resolution because I think 
it might enlighten some Members who

[[Page S100]]

are not necessarily familiar with all the facts and details.
  The resolution reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 79

       Whereas Elian Gonzalez, a 6-year-old citizen of Cuba, lost 
     his mother in a tragic boat accident and floated alone for 
     days in treacherous conditions off the coast of Florida;
       Whereas Elian Gonzalez was found November 25, 1999, alive 
     but physically and emotionally drained, brought ashore and 
     examined at a hospital, and released temporarily by the 
     Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) into the care of 
     his great-uncle and cousins in the Miami area while it 
     evaluated his case;
       Whereas the natural father and sole surviving parent of 
     Elian Gonzalez. Juan Gonzalez of Cuba, has repeatedly 
     requested that the United States Government return his son to 
     him immediately;
       Whereas the President rightly determined that the fate of 
     Elian Gonzalez should be determined by United States statutes 
     and regulations related to immigration cases involving 
     children;
       Whereas the INS, after interviewing Juan Gonzalez twice in 
     Cuba and carefully reviewing all relevant laws, rules, and 
     evidence, correctly determined on January 5, 2000, that Juan 
     Gonzalez is a caring and involved father, that Elian Gonzalez 
     faces no credible threat of political persecution if returned 
     to his father, and as a result, that Juan Gonzalez possesses 
     the sole authority of speaking for Elian Gonzalez regarding 
     his son's immigration status in the United States under 
     Federal immigration law and universally accepted legal norms;
       Whereas the INS resolved to return Elian to Cuba by January 
     14, 2000, to live with his father Juan Gonzalez, in 
     accordance with his father's request;
       Whereas on January 12, 2000, the Attorney General fully 
     supported the INS ruling, reaffirmed INS jurisdiction over 
     the matter, and said that a decision by a Florida State court 
     judge granting temporary custody of Elian Gonzalez to his 
     relatives in Miami, establishing a March 6, 2000, date for a 
     hearing on permanent custody, and calling for the father's 
     presence at that hearing had no force and effect;
       Whereas only the Federal courts have the jurisdiction to 
     review the Attorney General's decision;
       Whereas what Elian Gonzalez needs most at this time is to 
     be with the father and both sets of grandparents who raised 
     him so that he can begin the process of grieving for his 
     mother, in peace;
       Whereas despite the existence of important political 
     disagreements between the Governments of the United States 
     and Cuba, these differences should not interfere with the 
     right to privacy of a 6-year-old child or his sacred bond 
     with his father; and
       Whereas any unusual or inappropriate changes to immigration 
     law made by Congress to naturalize a minor without the 
     parents' consent would have the effect of encouraging parents 
     in other nations to risk the lives of their children under 
     the false hope that they might receive special treatment 
     outside standard channels for legal immigration: Now, 
     therefore be it
       Resolved * * *

  The resolve clause basically says Elian Gonzalez ought to be returned 
to his father.
  I send this resolution to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is received and appropriately referred.
  Mr. DODD. I appreciate that.
  I stated the facts in that resolution.
  Mr. President, let me state, again, this boy ought to be home with 
his father. We have a significant disagreement with the Government of 
Fidel Castro. Those disagreements are not going to be resolved by this 
case. But good families exist in countries with bad governments. The 
idea that the family of Elian Gonzalez, because he lives under a 
repressive regime in Cuba, cannot be a good family is, on its face, 
false. There are plenty of good families all over this globe who live 
under governments that we do not approve of.
  In this case, I believe--based on the examination by the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service of Elian Gonzalez' father, and based on all 
that is known about his grandparents and other family members--that 
such a family exists in Cuba. The evidence suggests that his father is 
not only fit as a parent, but caring and involved, as well. Despite the 
fact that he was divorced from Elian's mother, the evidence suggests 
that he shared with her the responsibility of raising this young boy. 
Therefore, I think it is in the interests of this child that he be 
returned to that family as quickly as possible.
  That really ought to settle this matter. Based on what we know today, 
his father loves him, and wants him back. That is a desire that every 
American parent can understand and share.
  But what has happened here, apparently, is that the hatred on the 
part of some for an old man in Cuba--Fidel Castro--is interfering with 
the love of a father and a son. If there is a debate--and there is 
between our two Governments--let that debate be conducted by adults.
  Let us debate the embargo. Let us debate the issue of food and 
medicine. I note, as I stand here, the Presiding Officer has been an 
enlightened and thoughtful participant in that discussion, as we are 
trying to work our way through what is the best way for us to try to 
repair this relationship between the Governments of Cuba and the United 
States that has gone on for 40 years, to bring about the kind of change 
in Cuba that would bring freedom to the people of Cuba.
  We have said repeatedly that our argument is with Fidel Castro and 
his government, not with the Cuban people. Yet, unfortunately, in this 
discussion, it appears that for some the debate is with the Cuban 
people if Elian Gonzalez is denied the opportunity to return to Cuba to 
be with his father.
  I hope, again, as I said a few moments ago, that this matter will not 
come to the floor of the Senate for debate, that the leadership, in its 
wisdom, will decide to move on to other matters--the bankruptcy bill, 
the budget matters that we need to discuss, the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act, a Patients' Bill of Rights,and a minimum wage 
increase, to name just a few. There is a long list of issues for us to 
debate and discuss. But we ought not to debate the custody status of a 
6-year-old child who, in the opinion of all who have taken a look at 
this issue from a neutral and responsible position, have concluded that 
Elian Gonzalez ought to be home with his father in Cuba. We ought to 
instead allow the current legal process to work so that a decision on 
this boy's fate can be rendered expeditiously and, hopefully, in favor 
of reuniting him with his father.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I say at the outset, I agree completely 
with the Senator from Connecticut. I ask unanimous consent that if my 
name is not shown as a cosponsor----
  Mr. DODD. It is.
  Mr. DURBIN. Thank you.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of Senator Dodd's resolution.
  What a curious footnote in the history of this world that this Senate 
Chamber would focus its debate and the attention of the media in this 
country on a little 6-year-old boy from Cuba.
  But if you scan history, you will find similar cases where one person 
being caught in the vortex of controversy becomes the focal point. In 
this case, the focal point is a 6-year-old boy named Elian Gonzalez, 
and at issue is the foreign policy between the United States of America 
and the Nation of Cuba.
  Yesterday, Senator Dodd was kind enough to invite me, as well as 
three other Senators, to meet with the grandmothers of Elian Gonzalez. 
I sat and listened for an hour as they explained their family 
circumstances and answered our questions. It really brought me back to 
that moment in time many years ago when I was a practicing lawyer in 
Springfield, IL, and spent many days involved in family law. It was not 
the most enjoyable part of my legal practice.
  In fact, many times those cases, involving divorce and child custody 
and child support, unfortunately, brought out the very worst in people. 
Those battles over children became proxy battles over a failed 
marriage. It saddened me, as I am sure it saddens many who are involved 
in this.
  As I listened yesterday, I understood that these two grandmothers 
were basically making the case that they had a good family to offer in 
Cuba, a good family for Elian Gonzalez. I thought they made their case 
convincingly. The fact that this young boy, after his parents were 
divorced, was the subject of joint custody is, in and of itself, a 
telling fact. It is rare. There are people who fight in court for years 
and spend thousands of dollars over the question of joint custody.
  In this case, Elian Gonzalez' mother decided that she could trust her 
former husband, the father of Elian, so much so that she left him with 
his father 5 out of 7 days each week. That simple fact told me a great 
deal about whether or not Elian Gonzalez' father was a fit parent. In 
the eyes of Elian's mother, the former wife of Elian's father, he 
certainly was a fit parent.

[[Page S101]]

  But then I have to tell you that some of the things said to me by 
these grandmothers were so touching. Consider Elian's maternal 
grandmother who came to the United States. Think about what she has 
been through. In just a few short weeks, she saw an effort by her 
daughter and Elian, along with a man, to come to the United States. I 
am not sure how much she knew of this in advance. In fact, she 
indicated to us she did not know that they were going to take off for 
the United States.
  Then she was told her daughter was involved in a ship sinking, that 
her daughter drowned at sea, that this little 6-year-old boy watched 
his mother drowning at sea, that he grabbed on to a life preserver and 
hung on, some say for days, before he was rescued, and then was swept 
up into the caring arms of those who rescued him, brought to the United 
States, and given to a great uncle, who I am sure cares for him very 
much.
  But since he arrived in the United States, this little boy, no more 
than a first grader, has been the focus of such attention. They have 
heaped gifts on him, puppies and gifts and trips to Disney World. The 
cameras swirl around him as he walks across the backyard and plays with 
a ball or pets his little puppy.
  I remember things similar to that in my practice of law. We used to 
call it Disneyland daddy. If you are only going to get this little boy 
for a weekend, you will give him the world. You will take him to the 
ice cream shop as often as he wants to go, buy some toys, take him on a 
nice vacation, create an atmosphere in his mind that is idyllic. That 
is what has happened to Elian Gonzalez. In an effort to show love and 
caring, he has had all these gifts heaped upon him by his great uncle 
and his family. Yet I believe, as the grandmothers do, that the most 
basic thing Elian Gonzalez needs is his last surviving parent. He needs 
his father's loving arms more than he needs a trip to Disney World.
  I think with his father and the rest of his family in Cuba, they 
could start to try to reconstruct this little boy's life and to say to 
him that though you have seen more tragedies in your few years than 
many people do in a lifetime, we will stand by you. We will give you 
the support to make your life whole again. That should be what this 
debate is all about.
  I think the Immigration and Naturalization Service has it right. They 
asked the first question: Who will speak for this boy's interest? They 
concluded it would be his natural father. Then they asked the second 
important question: Is this natural father a fit parent? They 
interviewed him twice, went to Cuba to do it. They asked a lot of 
people about his background and came back and said, yes, he is a fit 
parent. He had joint custody of the little boy. The mother entrusted 
the boy to his father many, many times.
  They concluded, and properly so, that Elian Gonzalez should be 
allowed to return home to Cuba, but unfortunately that is not the end 
of the story because this little boy is caught up in a foreign policy 
debate that has been going on for more than 40 years in America. During 
my time in college, I lived with a Cuban American expatriate who 
explained to me what it was like to be forced out of Cuba, to be forced 
out of your home, to give up everything, by the Castro regime, by this 
Communist leader who refused to recognize the most basic human rights. 
I heard firsthand from this roommate of mine in college what his family 
went through, the sacrifice, the deprivation, the loss of things they 
would never see again.
  I always understood the feelings as best I could, not having lived 
them personally, of that generation of Cuban Americans who escaped to 
America's shores to finally get away from Castro and to have a chance 
at their own life and democracy. I have seen what they have created in 
south Florida and many other places around the United States. I am very 
proud that this group of immigrants to this country has made such a 
valuable contribution to our Nation, but like most immigrants, they 
never forget their homeland. That is not to say they don't love the 
United States, but they never forget their homeland of Cuba. They stay 
intensely involved in the foreign policy debate in Washington about the 
future of Cuba. They have become quite a political force in Florida, 
perhaps in national politics.
  They feel--and I share their feeling--that the people of Cuba deserve 
better than Fidel Castro. They deserve a democracy. They deserve an 
opportunity to live in freedom. They remind us of that frequently. I 
share their belief. I think they are right. But I have to say I believe 
they have taken the wrong tack when it comes to Elian Gonzalez. It is 
much more compelling to most American families that this little boy be 
reunited with his family than it is that he be in the midst of a 
foreign policy debate. Some Members of the Senate have suggested that 
next week we will stop the business of the Senate and we will focus the 
attention of this deliberative body on a 6-year-old Cuban boy named 
Elian Gonzalez. They have proposed, in one of the rare instances in 
American political history, that this little boy will have conferred 
upon him American citizenship--frankly, citizenship without even 
asking.

  We presume in most courts of law that a 6-year-old boy can hardly 
make a big decision about his life. He is too easily swayed by emotions 
and doesn't have the maturity to decide. They want to make the decision 
for him. They want to decide that he is an American citizen.
  I am reminded of an experience I had not long ago in Chicago. I went 
to a Mexican restaurant. After I finished my meal, a fellow came up to 
me from the kitchen. He was wearing a cook's clothes. He said: Can I 
talk to you for a minute, Senator? I said: Of course. He said: I am 
almost 65 years old. I was born in Mexico. My dream, for as long as I 
have lived, is to be a citizen of the United States of America. Here is 
my application form for naturalization.
  He had taken it and encased it in plastic; it meant so much to him. 
He said: This means so much to me, but the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service system is so slow and so bureaucratic and the 
new laws coming out of Washington make it so difficult, it has been 
over 2 years, and I am waiting for my chance to raise my hand and swear 
my loyalty to the United States of America. He said: Senator, I am 
afraid I will die before that happens. That would break my heart and 
the hearts of my family.
  I think about him, and I think of hundreds of thousands like him who 
have come to this country and followed the orderly process to become 
citizens. They have had to wait. They have had to go through a tangle 
of bureaucracy. They are hoping they will get the chance to raise their 
hands and become naturalized citizens.
  My mother was one of those. She was an immigrant to this country from 
Lithuania. In her 20s, after being married, she became a naturalized 
citizen. I have her naturalization certificate above my desk here in 
Washington. I am very proud of that.
  But you won't hear any efforts on the floor of the Senate for the 
hundreds of thousands of people who are longing for this chance to 
become Americans, waiting for the naturalization process to be 
completed. No, we will focus on one 6-year-old boy from Cuba. Why? 
Because he makes an important foreign policy point. I don't believe it 
is fair to him, only 6 years of age. Nor is it fair to the hundreds of 
thousands who are waiting patiently for us to say that he will move to 
the front of the line and become a citizen without even asking for it. 
That doesn't speak well for this country and our respect for the law.
  I have compassion for this little boy and what he has been through. 
Do I believe he could live in the United States and enjoy freedom in 
this country? Certainly. But as Senator Dodd and others have said, 
there are many good families living in countries with bad governments. 
Though Elian Gonzalez, by the matter of fate, was born in Cuba under a 
repressive regime, I don't doubt for a minute that he has a loving 
family who can give him so much in his life as he grows up. If we are 
going to have compassion for children and particularly immigrant 
children, let me tell you, the Senate has a full agenda. I returned 2 
weeks ago from Africa where there are literally over 20 million AIDS 
orphans. These kids need the same compassion and concern.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sessions). The time of the Senator has 
expired.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent for 5 additional minutes.

[[Page S102]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Chair.
  There are many millions of children around the world who deserve our 
concern and our compassion. I hope those who are expressing this 
feeling about Elian Gonzalez will not stop at that, will decide that we 
can do more to help many others in small ways and large ways combined. 
I hope next week the leadership of the Senate does not bring this 
matter before us. I will oppose it. I will support the resolution from 
the Senator from Connecticut. I think it is sensible. It answers the 
basic question with the most basic family value. Where should Elian 
Gonzalez be? He should be with his father, his last surviving parent. 
The trauma that he has been through I think, I hope he can endure. I 
hope he will be a strong little boy. I hope he will grow up and reflect 
on his experience in the United States, remembering that there were 
people who loved him in this country as well, and there certainly are.
  Let me close by saying that I hope Cuban Americans will consider this 
for a moment. I don't believe the action they have taken relative to 
Elian Gonzalez has increased the popularity of their cause at all. Many 
people are confused and bewildered that they would fight a foreign 
policy battle on the back of a 6-year-old boy.
  I think we should learn a lesson from history. There was a time when 
Eastern Europe was under Soviet domination.
  There was a time when we considered them to be victims of a Communist 
regime. We decided in the latter part of the last century that the best 
way to change that government and that mindset in Eastern Europe was to 
open the doors wide, let them see the rest of the world, let them trade 
with the United States and Europe, and let them understand what 
democracy was all about, let them see what freedom meant in their daily 
lives, and, you know, it worked.
  We saw the Berlin Wall come down. We saw countries such as Poland, 
under Soviet domination for 40 years, emerge into a democracy and an 
economy that is an inspiration to all. Can't we learn the same lesson 
when it comes to Cuba? If we open the doors and allow Cubans to come to 
the United States to visit, to work, to trade, to engage in cultural 
and educational exchanges, is there anyone who can doubt that will lead 
to a new Cuba? Is there anyone who doubts that kind of exchange, 
instead of this isolationism, will force the political change we have 
been waiting for for over four decades?
  I don't think that change will come about by granting citizenship to 
Elian Gonzalez. That one little boy will become just a tragic footnote 
in history. He has endured enough in his short life. I hope this Senate 
doesn't add to the burden he now has to carry--the memory of seeing his 
mother drown at sea. I hope the leadership of the Senate will think 
twice before they allow us to become party to what has become a sad 
chapter in the history of this country.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________