The battle lines have been drawn over the fate of Elian Gonzalez. On one side is the boy’s patron father, Fidel Castro, and his godfather, Bill Clinton. On the other side is Elian’s real family in America who are fighting for his freedom. Make no mistake about it. The choices are clear: deportation and enslavement, or family and freedom.

Sadly, amidst the sensationalism of his plight, Elian has become the ultimate propaganda tool for both Clinton and Castro. They are using this young boy for the most craven political purposes. For Clinton, this is another way to establish closer ties with Castro’s communist dictatorship and eventually end the Cuban embargo. For Castro, it is another way to get worldwide media attention and to ruthlessly divide and conquer Cuban families – a practice he has perfected for over 40 years.

And it is a common tactic of Bill Clinton and, coincidentally, old line Communist leaders like Fidel Castro, to use “conservative” or “populist” rehtoric to appeal or split up their opposition, while implementing their own morally corrupt agenda.

Elian’s real father in Cuba is a mere puppet of this entire political charade. If he and his current family were allowed to leave Cuba there is no doubt they would seek asylum for themselves and let Elian stay. In fact, according to several of his relatives, the father approved his boy fleeing to the U.S. with his mother. Unfortunately, because of the vicious tactics of Castro, he has been pressured to forfeit his paternal rights to Castro’s regime.

Upon closer examination of this case, it clear morally and legally that Elian’s Miami relatives have his best interests at heart. Because many of them too have escaped the tyranny of Castro, they understand better than anyone the pain he has suffered over the loss of his mother, who bravely sacrificed her life for her son’s freedom. Though they only have temporary custody, Elian's family is seeking, at the least, a proper asylum hearing and eventually full citizenship. The Clinton White House, through Janet Reno and the INS, want to deny Elian his right as a political refugee to seek asylum and immediately deport him. A federal judge will soon make a decision. It is highly possible, due to the enormous pressure and intimidation of the Clinton administration, that Elian will be deported.

In the end, only Congress can really save Elian. By law, they have the power to grant American citizenship, which would override the courts and Clinton. Currently, there are two companion bills – S. 1999 sponsored by Sen. Connie Mack and H.R. 3531 sponsored by Rep. Bill McCollum – both of which naturalize Elian as a U.S. citizen. We at CIC urge all of supporters to contact their Senators and Congressman at http://www.impeachclinton.org/impeach/contact.shtml and demand they support these bills. The fate of Elian may be in all Americans’ hands as it will take our voices to pressure Congress to do the right thing.

We at CIC realize that many Americans have sympathized with the father or have grappled with their emotions over where to stand on this issue. With the apparent uniqueness of Elian’s plight, this reaction is normal. But we must all recognize that some of our fellow Americans have escaped tyranny from abroad to live here in freedom. And they have every right to citizenship.

CIC is not suggesting political refuge as an overall policy. Just in this case.

A better U.S. policy would be to encourage Cuban Americans to peacefully and legally organize the overthrow of Fidel Castro, which some are doing without U.S. backing.

In closing, we leave you to consider the words of Patricia Herrera who also escaped across the Florida Straits under similar circumstances as Elian: “I was once 8 years old and in a raft heading for a new life. My parents risked their lives as well as mine because of all their love for me and to give me a life where I could have the freedom to speak out and make a difference, something no one can have in a place like Cuba. I know that if they would have passed during the process, they would’ve wished for me to stay in America.”