Editorials
Friday, January 7, 2000Decision to return
Cuban boy is painfulTHUS far the Clinton administration has acted with restraint and compassion in the case of Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy who was rescued on Thanksgiving Day clinging to an inner tube at sea after his mother, stepfather and eight others drowned while trying to reach Florida.The issue: The Immigration and Naturalization Service has decided that 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez should be returned to his father in Cuba.
The chief of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Doris Meissner, decided that the boy should be returned to his father in Cuba. Attorney General Janet Reno said she saw no reason to reverse that decision.
Meissner said reuniting families "has long been a cornerstone of both American immigration law and U.S. practice." The boy, "who has been through so much, belongs with his father," she said.
Elian's relatives in Florida dispute the decision and are threatening to go to court to block his return, as is their right. The case is not over. However, it does not appear that they will prevail in the courts.
The problem is that the case has assumed symbolic importance in the decades-long struggle between Fidel Castro and the Cuban-American community, which is largely comprised of refugees from Castro's oppressive regime. Little Elian has become a pawn in that struggle.
It appears that the Immigration Service has tried to deal with the case on its merits, regardless of the political ramifications.
The boy's American relatives were allowed to make their case for his remaining in their care in Miami. His father was interviewed in Cuba and satisfied the agency that he had a close relationship with his son despite his divorce from his mother. The mother's parents also supported a return to Cuba.
Explaining her decision, Meissner said the boy and his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, had a "close and continuous relationship" even though the boy's parents were divorced. The INS commissioner said the father "made it very clear that he wants Elian returned to him as soon as possible."
But Elian's family in Miami contends the INS is violating its own rules by not allowing the boy to apply for asylum.
Castro has made Elian's case a cause celebre, whipping up public sentiment with demonstrations and propaganda. The boy's return will be treated as a victory for his discredited government.
Conversely, the Cuban-American community is outraged by the INS decision. Yet somehow the boy's best interests must prevail in the midst of this political circus.
The facts seem to support granting custody to the father as the sole surviving parent in line with INS policies. But the unique circumstances -- his mother died trying to escape with him from Castro's dictatorship -- would give his return a grotesque twist.
Election budget cuts
would be shortsightedCHOOSING areas to trim government to accommodate budget cuts is bound to attract criticism from those directly affected, but handling of elections is one area where reduced services should not be tolerated. The Legislature should reject the Cayetano administration's proposed cutting of the number of precinct officials in order to make ends meet.
Chief elections officer Dwayne Yoshina says the governor has directed him to cut his office's budget by $83,013, or 4 percent, to $2.8 million. He says that would force him to eliminate 553 Election Day positions, mostly for precinct officials. "I've taken all the cuts I can," Yoshina says.
Making matters worse, he says, the state will be using a new electronic voting system in this year's primary and general elections that could confuse voters. Many voters are likely to need precinct officials to help them cast their ballots in the new system.
Yoshina's complaint about being stripped to the bone is understandable. Precinct officials numbered 3,578 for the 1994 elections, and their numbers were cut to 2,922 for Election Day 1998. He says his office also has encountered problems luring reliable people to the $75-an-election-day jobs; one in five doesn't even show up.
The state experienced glitches in the operation of new electronic ballot counters in the 1998 elections. Problems with seven machines prompted a statewide recount, although no outcome was reversed.
Some voters walked away from long lines in frustration, indicating precincts needed more, not fewer, officials to handle the traffic.
Now the state procurement office is seeking bids for a new election system. A contract must be signed by early March if the system is to be ready in time for the primary elections in September.
More confusion can be expected as voters and election officials deal with a new system. It is unrealistic to assume that the elections can be conducted with fewer officials under these circumstances.
Problems caused by understaffing in the next elections could further discourage citizens from voting. That would be the ultimate harm. The election process is no place to scrimp on expenses.
http://www.state.hi.us
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
