Lawyer who exposed Elian memo sues Ashcroft, others

MIAMI -- A government lawyer who exposed an internal memo on the refugee case of Elian Gonzalez is suing her superiors and Attorney General John Ashcroft, alleging she was a victim of retaliation.

Diana Alvarez claims one of her superiors at the Immigration and Naturalization Service made disparaging comments about Cuban-Americans and deliberately kept her from receiving a good evaluation after she objected to "anti-Cuban bigotry and discrimination" during the seven-month custody battle over Elian.

"There was an atmosphere of outward discrimination against Cuban-Americans at the Miami district INS office, discrimination that was fully condoned and many times initiated by management," Alvarez, who is Cuban-American, said Tuesday. "The retaliation is ongoing to this day and there truly seems to be no end in sight."

Diana Alvarez's suit, filed in federal court Jan. 10, seeks unspecified damages for employment discrimination, emotional distress and injury to reputation.

Ana Santiago, an INS spokeswoman in Miami, declined to comment, citing a standing policy not to discuss litigation.

Elian was rescued off Florida after his mother and most of the other boat passengers traveling illegally from Cuba died when their vessel capsized. He was placed with relatives in Miami who, backed by other Cuban exiles, fought to have him granted asylum in the United States. After a court battle, the then-6-year-old boy was returned to the custody of his father and was sent back to Cuban in June 2000.

Alvarez claims she also experienced hostility after she testified in a discrimination proceeding for INS agent Rick Ramirez, who also sued the attorney general over allegations of anti-Cuban bias at the Miami district office. Ramirez settled his lawsuit in September.

During a hearing for Ramirez, Alvarez produced a memo that discussed the possibility that Elian's father at one time had sought a visa to move to the United States. The memo also discussed allegations that the Cuban government coerced Elian's father.

If coercion could be shown, the memo said, the INS could accept the asylum application filed on Elian's behalf. However, a notation on the memo said that Doris Meissner, then the INS commissioner, had ordered it destroyed.