Editorial: Injecting politics is shameless

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000 | 9:51 a.m.

It was no easy matter for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to rule on the fate of Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old boy who was rescued off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving Day after his mother drowned in an attempt to escape Cuba. On the one hand, keeping the boy in the United States with his relatives would mean that he would have freedoms unthinkable in communist Cuba. On the other hand, receiving liberty here also would result in a permanent separation from his father and grandparents in Cuba, a cruel prospect.

Neither option was desirable, but the best course was to reunite the boy with his father, a decision the INS chose last week. This tough call later was endorsed by President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno. Former President Gerald Ford also backed the decision. The ruling hasn't been met with universal acclaim, though. Even Vice President Al Gore, a Democratic presidential hopeful, isn't willing to back the INS decision, saying that it might be better for the custody issue to be decided by a court.

Honest disagreements over this issue are expected, but some Republicans have shamelessly politicized this case. Late last week Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., subpoenaed Elian Gonzalez to testify in February before the committee that Burton chairs. No one seriously believes that the 6-year-old boy will make an appearance before Congress -- this was just a stalling tactic by Burton to keep the boy here so his Miami relatives have more time to fight the INS decision (on Monday a local judge in Miami ruled she had jurisdiction over the custody case and issued a temporary protective order). And Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., chairman of the committee with oversight of the INS, visited Elian Gonzalez in Miami on Saturday in a stunt carefully staged to get maximum media exposure.

What motivated some Republicans to be at the forefront of this case is the 2000 presidential election: Florida is considered a prize with its huge population and large amount of electoral votes that could decide the race for the White House. One of the most politically powerful -- and courted -- blocs in Florida are Cuban-Americans. In a bid to make themselves look tough when dealing with Castro, and curry favor with Cuban-Americans, Republicans are denouncing the INS decision in a cold, political calculation.

Unfortunately it seems that these same Republicans have forgotten their "family values" agenda -- including the belief that it is important to keep families together rather than breaking them apart. Instead, they have injected politics into an immigration case that should be decided on its merits. We've come to expect Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to unnecessarily whip up anti-U.S. sentiment on that island, but to see some members of our Congress try to fan the flames on this issue is disgraceful.