A federal court hearing into the case of the six-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor, Elian Gonzalez, began in Miami yesterday amid expectations that it might bring to an end a three-month-old international tug-of-war over the boy.
US District Judge K. Michael Moore is to rule on a lawsuit filed by one of the boy's great uncles, Mr Lazaro Gonzalez, that aims to force the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) to give Elian a hearing to request political asylum.
The lawsuit is designed to block a January ruling by the INS, which said that only Elian's father in Cuba has the right to make immigration requests on the boy's behalf.
Elian was found clinging to an inner tube after a shipwreck off the Florida coast on November 25th. The boy, his mother and 12 other Cubans were trying to reach US shores in the boat, but most drowned when the craft capsized.
The judge will first decide whether his court has jurisdiction to hear the suit filed against the US Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, and the INS Commissioner, Ms Doris Meissner.
If Judge Moore decides the matter is within his jurisdiction, the case could be headed for a full court hearing, possibly keeping the boy in the United States for several more months until a final decision is rendered.
"We believe that Elian deserves a chance to request political asylum because like any other refugee arriving here he is in danger of being harmed if returned to his country. And he has a right for the US government to hear his evidence about that," said Mr Spencer Eig, who is the head lawyer for Mr Lazaro Gonzalez and his family.
But Mr Jeffrey Leving, who represents Mr Juan Miguel Gonzalez, Elian's Cuban father, said the boy had already suffered so much that he needed to be reunited with his immediate family.
"My opinion is this boy obviously needs to stabilise after all he has gone through," Mr Leving told CNN television early yesterday. "And I believe the best way for any child in this situation to stabilise is through familiarity, and familiarity in a situation like this best met through stability, through the surviving parent."
Many legal experts have said they expect Judge Moore to follow well-established US law and rule that he has no jurisdiction over the case because the INS controls immigration matters and its decisions are not usually subject to court review.
They said Judge Moore also could rule that the Miami relatives have no standing to sue on behalf of Elian because his father is his legal guardian and is the only person able to speak for him.
In Havana, Mr Juan Miguel Gonzalez said he would not plead for his son in a US court but was confident he would return to Cuba. "In spite of everything, I am sure the boy will come back," he said.