The head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
ordered the destruction of an e-mail that could have bolstered the request for asylum
filed for Elian Gonzalez during the Cuban boy's stay in Miami
A handwritten notation at the bottom of an INS memo dated Dec. 29, 1999, said that Doris
Meissner, then the INS commissioner, ordered the memo destroyed the next day.
Meissner on Wednesday said she didn't recall ordering that a specific document be
destroyed but described a standing policy that no notes be taken or memos disseminated
about the boy's case because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A copy of the memo survived and was made public Wednesday by the conservative legal group,
Judicial Watch. It discussed the possibility that Elian's father at one time sought a visa
to move to the United States.
It also discussed allegations that the Cuban government had been coercing the father, Juan
Miguel Gonzalez.
If coercion could be shown, the roughly drafted e-mail memo said, INS could
"potentially accept the child's asylum's application and advise that there is no
prohibition on age to child filing application. As such PA should proceed."
"PA" apparently refers to "political asylum."
The memo, written by INS attorney Rebeca Sanchez Roig, summarized a conference call on the
Elian case involving several INS employees, including Meissner.
The handwritten notation on a printout of the e-mail memo, added by Roig some point after
the memo was written, said Meissner ordered the destruction of all copies of the memo
through another INS official.
It also said Meissner ordered that no more discussions related to Elian's case be put in
writing.
Meissner said she remembers being told that someone in Miami took notes of a meeting, but
did not recall specifically ordering them to be destroyed, instead reiterating the policy
that no such notes be written.
"What we wanted to prevent was a written record that might become available and
present difficulties in our negotiations," Meissner said. "It's a perfectly
defensible policy."
Meissner said the memo showed that the decision to return the boy to Cuba was much
debated.
"We were concerned if Juan Miguel was speaking freely in his opinions, and that's
reflected in that memo," Meissner said. "Ultimately, we determined he was
expressing his true opinions and he did have a very complete father-son relationship with
his child."
Elian was rescued at sea off Florida in November 1999 after his mother and most of the
other passengers traveling illegally from Cuba to the United States died when their boat
capsized.
The boy was temporarily placed with relatives in Miami who, backed by other Cuban exiles,
fought to keep the child in the United States.
The federal government said Elian should be reunited with his surviving parent. Gonzalez
is raising the boy in Cuba.
An INS spokeswoman in Miami, Patricia Mancha, said she could not immediately comment on
the memo.
Judicial Watch attorneys said the copy of the memo was provided to them this week by INS
lawyer Diana Alvarez.
It was cited Tuesday at a civil service hearing on INS special agent Ricardo Ramirez's
claims of threats, harassment and anti-Cuban-American sentiment in the INS Miami office at
the time of Elian's stay in the United States.
In March, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit in which Ramirez claimed he was harassed for
reporting alleged anti-Cuban bias in the agency after the Elian case.
Associated Press- Wednesday, April 10, 2002; 7:14 PM
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