If I remember correctly, the law for Cubans trying to enter America is that if their feet are on dry land, they can stay. If they're captured at sea (wet), they are returned to Cuba. I know Elian was in an innertube, but don't know the details about where his feet were when he was found.
This wet/dry law is totally idiotic.
Fish in territorial waters have more rights than a family fleeing to freedom from Cuba.
Elian Gonzalez had survived the impossible. I read reports of dolphins encircling his inner tube protecting him from sharks.
Poor kid never knew the real sharks were named Reno and Clinton and all the misguided and morally bankrupt people who know nothing about Freedom, and what desperation people turn to in its pursuit.