File #: Res 1177-2000    Version: * Name: US Citizenship, Elian Gonzalez
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, and International Intergroup Relations
On agenda: 2/8/2000
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution to support efforts to grant Elian Gonzalez U.S. citizenship and ensure his case is heard in family court in order to decide Elian's fate in the best interests of this young child.
Sponsors: Noach Dear, Karen Koslowitz, Priscilla A. Wooten
Council Member Sponsors: 3
Res. No. 1177 Title Resolution to support efforts to grant Elian Gonzalez U.S. citizenship and ensure his case is heard in family court in order to decide Elian's fate in the best interests of this young child. Body By Council Member Dear; also Council Members Koslowitz and Wooten. Whereas, On November 25, six-year-old Elian Gonzalez was rescued off the Florida coast after spending two days at sea clutching an inner tube to remain afloat; and Whereas, Elian Gonzalez was taken by his mother on a makeshift raft to flee the tyranny of Communist Cuba and make the risky journey to freedom in the United States; and Whereas, The raft capsized in unsettled seas taking the lives of ten Cubans including Elian's mother and stepfather; and Whereas, Elian's mother took her son on that perilous trip with the hope of offering him a better life in the "land of opportunity," the United States; and Whereas, The death of Elian's mother would be in vain if Elian is not permitted to take advantage of the freedoms that our great nation has to offer; and Whereas, Citizenship would ensure that Elian's case is heard before a family court which will be entrusted to act in his best interests; and Whereas, The symbol of U.S. freedom, the Statue of Liberty is inscribed with the words, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door;" and Whereas, Elian's story is told in that inscription and it is the duty of the U.S. government to open America's proverbial golden door to him by granting irrevocable U.S. citizenship; now therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York supports efforts to grant Elian Gonzalez U.S citizenship and ensure his case is heard in family court in order to decide Elian's fate in this best interests of this young child. Referred to the Committee on Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs & International Intergroup Relations. MW:bg LS#2646ElianGonzalez D-Res.#3 2/1/2000 - 2 -