Poll: Send Elian Home

Analysis By Bobbi Jo Fuller, ABCNEWS.com

Feb. 8 The number of Americans who support sending 
Elian Gonzalez back to his father in Cuba has inched up to 
55 percent, while a third say the boy should remain in Florida.

A new ABCNEWS.com poll show support for returning the 6-year-old to Cuba has grown from 46 percent in December, while opposition has held about steady. This poll was taken a week after the boys grandmothers left the United States after visiting him and meeting with U.S. officials to lobby for his return.

Elian has been at the center of a political storm since Thanksgiving Day, when he was found clinging to an inner tube off the coast of Florida. His mother perished along with 10 other Cubans attempting to reach the United States.

Since his rescue, Elian has been staying with relatives in Miami. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has ruled that the child should be sent back to his father in Cuba, but Elians great-uncle has filed suit in federal court to keep him in Florida.

Groups
Among the few differences among groups, better-educated Americans are more likely to support returning Elian to his father.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS.com survey was conducted by telephone Feb. 2-6, among a random national sample of 1,012 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Field work was done by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pa.