It's not just Reno who's on a family-rights kick. Many on the left have suddenly discovered the sacredness of a concept they formerly disdained. No rights are absolute. Ordinarily, a parent has a right to decide where his child will live. That does not include the right to stick him in the hole at Alcatraz.
Families have a right to discipline.
Throughout the affair, Juan Miguel has been reading from a script provided by the regime. Juan Gonzalez will arrive enveloped by an entourage to prevent him from sprinting to freedom. If the administration was really interested in learning what the father wants, it would have issued a visa on the condition that Juan Miguel meet privately with his Miami family at a neutral spot. It didn't because the last thing Clinton wants is more defectors named Gonzalez. The Clinton administration is willing to trade Elian's freedom for Castro's cooperation.