His father had a claim that couldn’t be disputed; if he died on the way over people would be furious at the mother.
His father was all for Elian coming to America and talked to the family on the phone after he made it. It's only after Castro got involved that he had to change his tune.
Nothing the Clintons or Reno did could surprise me. But, the majority of Americans cheered that storm trooper sticking a machine gun in that miracle child's face. The cowardly GOP went silent and my American flag went in the attic forever. This is a sick, sick nation and by the time he is 25, Cuba will probably be much more free than what's left of the USSA. Alas, his brain has probably long since been fried by what we/they did to him.