Elian Gonzalez affair

Full name:Elian Gonzalez affair

Born : December 6, 1993

The custody and immigration status of a young Cuban boy, Elián González (born December 6, 1993), was at the center of a heated controversy in 2000 involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, his father, Juan Miguel González Quintana, his Miami and Cuban relatives, and the Cuban American community of Miami. González emigrated from Cuba to the US together with his mother.

His mother didn't survive the trip, his father in Cuba wanted his son back to Cuba, while his relatives in the US wanted him to stay. A district court's ruling that the Miami relative could not petition for asylum on the boy's behalf was upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, and after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, Elian Gonzalez was returned to Cuba in April of 2000.

Hostility between Cuba and the United States has been persistent since the Cuban Revolution. During that period, a considerable number of Cubans have tried to leave for the United States covertly, seeking alternative economic, social or political conditions. This emigration is illegal under both Cuban and U.S. law; any Cuban found at sea, attempting to reach U.S. shores, will be deported by the U.S. Coast Guard or if discovered by Cuban police, ostracized and prohibited from most Cuban institutions.

U.S. policy has evolved into the current "wet feet, dry feet" rule: If a Cuban is picked up at sea or walking toward shore, he/she will be repatriated by force. If he/she can make it to shore ("dry feet"), he/she is permitted to make a case for political asylum.