◼ Attorney General helped return young Cuban refugee to Castro at gunpoint - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
What would Eric Holder do with Elian Gonzalez now?
Those of us of a certain age remember the days-long stand off in Miami involving a Cuban refugee child fled Cuba with his mother to escape to freedom to the United States.
Elian Gonzalez was found by a fisherman off the coast of Florida in November of 1999; his mother and other Cuban refugees had drowned during the trip, but Elian survived. Elian was only six years old and his mother had given her life to ensure he made it to the United States. Relatives in the Cuban community of Miami took him in, but the case became complicated. Elian’s father, who was separated from his mom before their journey, demanded that the boy be returned to Cuba.
Elian’s great uncle in Miami gained temporary custody, but the US government ruled the boy must return to his father in Cuba. The drama culminated in a dawn military-style raid on April 22, 2000 by the Clinton Administration’s Immigration and Nationalization Service. In one of the most famous photos of my lifetime, an armed INS agent is shown snatching terrified Elian being from his great uncle at the point of an automatic weapon.
Americans were astounded at the events as they unfolded. Many wondered how the U.S. government could ignore the wishes of Elian’s mother who had died trying to bring him to freedom. The answer came from none other than Eric Holder....
If Holder were to be consistent with his own standards, he’d explain why it was the United States government responsibility to act as parents — when he argued the opposite in the Elian Gonzalez case.
This is all about politics for Holder and President Obama — if it wasn’t we wouldn’t be in the mess on the border at all.
