Imagine a beloved son, John setting sail with his mother without anyone else’s knowledge. On the way, his mother dies, but John survives. Once in Japan, John’s distant relatives take him in, refusing to allow anyone from his family see him. Would not we want our son back? We probably would. Elian Gonzalez’s story has unfolded much the same way as the one just described. For the last month, the media has focused on Elian. As citizens of the United States, we should return Elian to his native land of Cuba, to his father who loves him.

First and foremost, we should return Elian to his father for moral reasons. We use God for our moral compass for decision making. He ordained the family unit with the husband/father as head. It is quite clear that fathers should teach and rear their children. Therefore, for no other reason, we should return Elian to his father. Those who do not accept God’s moral authority can look to nature to see the idea of parents rearing children. In the wild, parents care for their young--not some distant relative hundreds of miles away. Then logically, we should not treat Elian any differently. Janet Reno, attorney general of the Unites States stated, "I continue to believe based on all the information made available to me…that the person who speaks for this child is his one surviving parent—his father." All indications, including the Bible and God, point to one thing—return him to his father. For those who believe that Elian’s father is not a "fit" father, listen to Elian’s great uncle, who lives in Miami. "Elian’s father is a hard working, honest parking attendant."

National and international laws support this system and natural law of children living with their parents. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, international law dictates that we should return Elian to his only remaining parent. Many countries throughout the world support this position of returning him, including Spain and Russia. In fact, Neil D. Kolner, a lawyer and immigration specialist told the media, "They (the government) have the law on their side."

Finally, we should not turn this issue into a political fight. As established earlier, we should return Elian for moral reasons. Instead of doing this, Elian’s Florida relatives seem to use him day after day as a political monkey. This has influenced many people, and has turned this matter into a Cuban-American relations referendum. Many countries do not have ideal governments, yet we do not grant every child in those countries political asylum. For example, we send many children back to Mexico each year, even though Mexico might have worse living conditions than Cuba. Also, we as American’s value our rights. It is the parent’s right to raise their child. If someone took our child, we would want him back. In fact, we would feel that we had the right to have him back. We should not take this right away from Elian’s father. All this points to a matter that has turned from a moral matter to a political matter, which should not have happened.

Therefore, we can see that we should return Elian to his father in Cuba for moral, biblical, and legal reasons. We should not politicize this matter. Elian is only six years old; we should not make him into a Cuban-American relations referendum. In the words of Representative David Vitter, "I feel strongly that a parent should guide the destiny of his minor child." Representative Clay Shaw agreed with his colleague when he stated, "I’m repulsed by the notion of not favoring the father and grandparents over uncles and cousins." Once again, we can see that all signs point towards sending Elian back to Cuba. Immigration lawyers, congressmen, and even the attorney general all agree--return him!