U.S., Citing Elian Case, Opts to Review Immigration Policy

WASHINGTON —  Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, reflecting on the end of the Elian Gonzalez saga, said Thursday that federal officials will undertake a review of immigration policies to determine whether any changes are needed in light of the seven-month ordeal.

“We will be looking at it to see if there is any lesson learned, anything that should be done,” she said.

In the end, the courts validated the Justice Department’s position that Elian’s father had a right to custody of the boy and that his Miami relatives did not have the right to demand a full asylum review on Elian’s behalf after his ill-fated voyage to U.S. shores.

But the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is part of the Justice Department, took a pounding along the way in the lengthy debate, drawing criticism from some activists who believe that U.S. policy is riddled with inconsistencies.

Critics charged that the impasse over Elian was fueled by what is known as the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy, which extends sanctuary to virtually any Cuban who reaches U.S. soil but denies it to Haitians, Dominicans and other would-be immigrants under the same circumstances.

Elian was rescued off the Florida coast last Thanksgiving Day, one of three people to survive after a boat that was also carrying his mother and other Cubans sank.

His plight raised questions about how children should be treated in such situations, and Reno said she is following up on that issue now that Elian has returned home.

Reno also offered an olive branch to the Cuban American community in Miami, where she was once the top prosecutor, but she acknowledged that the wounds there may be too deep to heal.

“I don’t know whether I can [make amends]. I would like to think that I can. Some of the messages that I get from them indicate maybe I can’t,” she said. “But I am devoted to that community. I believe in it. I believe in its caring nature, and I’m going to do everything I can to heal it.”