rated Marisleysis. In the days to follow, Marisleysis Gonzalez would be admitted to the hospital for a second time due to stress related illnesses.Public support in the Little Havana community grew as demonstrators from the anti-Castro group, the Democracy Movement, linked arms and practiced non-violent resistance techniques. Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, said, "We will not let Elian's civil rights be violated... We are not willing to harm anyone, but we are willing to die to defend the constitutional rights of Elian Gonzalez."After months of refusing to come to the United States to resolve issues with his son, Juan Miguel Gonzalez applied for a visa to come and retrieve Elian. Through his attorney, Gregory Craig, Juan Miguel arranged to stay in the country until the appeals process is complete. The 11th U.S. Curcuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has scheduled the case for May 11. Talks between the Miami family and the INS ended with no agreement. INS officials wanted a signed statement from Lazaro Gonzalez promising to hand Elian over if he lost his case in the appeals court. Lazaro Gonzalez refused. Instead, he pleaded with Juan Miguel to come to Miami to meet with Elian in a family environment. In a statement released, he said, "We appeal to Juan Miguel to come to our home with his wife and son and sit with us around the family table. We want no government officials, no lawyers, and no press, only family." The relatives also said that they were no longer willing to hand over Elian to his father but would not resist if the government tried to take him from their home.Meanwhile, on Friday, March 31, the Florida House of Representatives passed a resolution that urged the Justice Department to keep Elian in U.S. custody until he can petition for political asylum, giving the family of Lazaro Gonzalez new hope of gaining custody of Elian and keeping him here in the United States.One week later, Juan Miguel Gonzalez arr...
