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Elian Gonzalez Case: Attorney General Meets With Boy's Father, Prepares to Transfer Custody; Demonstrators Maintain Vigil in Miami

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LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: The father of young Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez says he is satisfied that he, soon, will have his son back. Today, Juan Miguel Gonzalez thanked the fishermen who saved his boy's life and the American people who support his effort to get his boy back. A letter from U.S. Immigration officials revoking custody of Elian could be delivered to his Florida relatives today.

CNN's Pierre Thomas closely follows the story in Washington. He joins us now with the next legal steps -- Pierre.

PIERRE THOMAS, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we are told it was a very emotional meeting involving the father of Elian Gonzalez and the attorney general of the United States. The father made clear his plea to Reno that he wants to be reunited with his son. Reno made clear that she -- he has her backing, that she will try to make this happen. The father seemed very, very pleased after the meeting and made his position known.

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ERIC HOLDER, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: ... kinds of games here. It is not as if we are talking about...

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THOMAS: Well, the father came out of the meeting and expressed his gratitude to the attorney general, thanking her for listening to his wishes. And the attorney for Mr. Gonzalez as well talked about how the meeting had gone well and they feel that progress is being made.

But, again, the devil is in the details. The Justice Department is preparing a letter to inform the family in Miami that parole custody will be transferred to the father. That would be the first step in this very long process of trying to get the boy back to his father -- Lou.

WATERS: Pierre, we lost -- we has a glitch here, lost part of what Eric Holder had to say. Does the government have concerns about this transfer that it will perhaps not go less than as prompt and as smoothly as the attorney general would wish?

THOMAS: Well, that is a major concern. In fact, they're preparing contingencies. One of the things that they would like to consider doing or that they would consider doing in this particular case is going to federal court to seek an order to compel the family to comply with the Justice Department position. They think that the -- an order from the court, beyond the Justice Department and the attorney general and the Immigration and Naturalization Service ordering the family, would be something that the family might respect. So that is one option that they're considering. Obviously they do not want to get into a position where they would have to go to that household in Miami and forcibly remove the boy.

WATERS: We would imagine that a good sign, a positive sign might be some indication that -- of the disparate factions of the Gonzalez family might somehow get together. We understand one member of the family is headed to Washington. Are there any suggestions there that there might be some effort to get the Miami relatives and Mr. Juan Miguel Gonzalez together up there?

THOMAS: Well, you heard this morning, apparently, from some of the attorneys in Miami suggesting that the family is willing to meet with Juan Gonzalez here in Washington. But given Mr. Gonzalez' statements yesterday that the family had treated his son poorly, in terms of parading him before the media, there's a serious question as to how well the two families could get along. Could they negotiate? Could they communicate? Could they work this out? That question is very, very open at this particular point, Lou.

WATERS: Lot to learn yet.

Pierre Thomas, Justice correspondent in Washington.

Donna, what's next?

DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, in Miami, the neighborhood of Elian's Florida relatives is the scene of a waiting game today. While Elian's great-uncle waits for that Immigration letter, supporters hold a continuous vigil. Some threaten to prevent the boy from being taken from the home.

CNN's Mark Potter joins us from Miami with more on reaction there -- Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Donna.

Well, all is relatively quiet here at the house this afternoon as, you said, the family is waiting for that first letter to come in. With talks broken down and with the government likely to revoke Elian's permission to stay in the U.S. and to transfer the custody to the father, the family is, as was mentioned a moment ago, taking a little more of a conciliatory position toward the father. Before, the family said it would only agree to meet with him here at this house in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. Now it agrees to meet elsewhere.

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MANNY DIAZ, GONZALEZ FAMILY ATTORNEY: I know the family is very anxious to meet with him. They've said that from the beginning. They've said that their door down here is open and would ask the public to take a step back, and the lawyers and the media and everybody else and -- just so that they can be allowed to have a private meeting as a family. And they have also indicated that if it doesn't happen -- if it can't take place here, they're willing to go somewhere else as long as there's no interference from anybody, from government, lawyers, or anyone else -- just a private family meeting.

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POTTER: Now, as Elian played in the yard today, there was no word from the father as to whether he would agree to such a meeting. This is clearly a bitter, bitter custody battle between family members. It's interesting to note that in his speech today in Washington, the father thanked the fisherman who rescued his boy. He thanked the American people for their support, but he had nothing positive to say at all about the Miami relatives.

Now, this afternoon at 4:00 here, a political activist group known as the democracy movement is calling for a traffic slowdown during the height of Friday rush hour at the Miami International Airport. The purpose is to protest the latest developments in this case.

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RAMON SAUL SANCHEZ, DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT: The purpose is to send a message to the government that we want Elian to be heard, for the government to stop sending the ultimatums to this community were there is a lot of tension and a lot of pain regarding this case.

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POTTER: Today there was a smaller group of supporters here at the house -- a few dozen. All is quiet there. They're just standing around in the hot sun.

Now, one of Elian's great-uncles, as was mentioned a moment ago, Delfin Gonzalez, has gone off to Washington to lobby. Sources at the Cuban-American National Foundation say he will also try to arrange a meeting with the father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.

One of the family attorneys is planning to apply soon for a hearing date for Elian in Florida state family court, a move that would be opposed by the Justice Department. Lawyers are also working on their appeals in federal court. So there is still a lot of litigation ahead in the case of Elian Gonzalez.

Mark Potter, CNN, reporting live from Miami.

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