Res. No. 1331 Title Resolution commending United States Attorney General Janet Reno on her decision to rule in favor of Elian Gonzalez returning home to Cuba to live with his father. Body By Council Members Rivera, Clarke, Lopez, Marshall and Warden; also Council Members Cruz, Foster, Harrison, Michels, Povman, Provenzano, Quinn and Eldridge Whereas, The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Justice Department have both ruled in favor of allowing Elian Gonzalez to return home to Cuba to live with his father; and Whereas, On November 25, 1999, six-year-old Elian Gonzalez was rescued off the Florida coast after spending two days at sea clutching to an inner tube, losing his mother, who drowned in the attempt to flee Cuba; and Whereas, The surrounding controversy of whether to allow Elian to stay with his relatives in America or to send him back to Cuba to live with his father quickly became an issue awash in politics and clashing ideologies; and Whereas, No one has been hurt more in this ordeal than Elian Gonzalez, who is perhaps too young to fully understand the larger issues surrounding his case, but is certainly of an age where he is greatly affected by the behavior of the swarms of adults that surround him daily; and Whereas, Though most Americans, whether they be in Miami or New York City or anywhere in the union, accept the democratic principles that govern our nation and shun the communist government of Cuba, it is not our place to prevent a son from reuniting with his natural father because we disagree with Cuba's politics or even because we feel there are greater opportunities that await him in America; and Whereas, Attorney General Janet Reno was correct in agreeing with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in ruling that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father and return to Cuba, thus placing the best interests of the child first and foremost; and Whereas, Ms. Reno was able to work under great political pressure to set politics aside and come down with a ruling that best represents the democratic principles of the United States and affirms the importance of fatherhood in the growth and development of a child; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commends United States Attorney General Janet Reno on her decision to rule in favor of Elian Gonzalez returning to Cuba to live with his father. MW:bg LS#2868 D-Res.#4 4/14/00 |10
13| - 2 -