Despite having received an offer to pay for Elian Gonzalez's entire family to fly from Cuba to Miami, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will send the 6-year-old back to the communist island nation without giving the father an opportunity to speak freely.

"I will personally pay the cost to bring Elian's entire family to Miami so that we can learn for sure what his father wants -- free of communist coercion," offered Jim Nicholson, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

An impartial court, not the bureaucrats of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, should decide the final outcome of the case, Nicholson insisted. He said there is no way to know the true desires of the boy's family until they are able to express their feelings without fear of reprisals.

He has been unable to get word of his offer directly to the boy's father, since the message must be conveyed through the Cuban government.

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"Frankly, getting any message to him is very difficult through Castro. We're relying on the media to help get the message to him," RNC spokesman Mike Collins explained to WorldNetDaily.

Little Elian has been the object of political volleyball since he was rescued from the ocean Nov. 25. He managed to survive the sinking of the refugee boat, which killed his mother and others. Elian was found clinging to an inner tube. His mother was divorced from his father.

"This little boy, who has been through so much, belongs with his father," said Doris Meissner, INS commissioner, when she announced that the U.S. will send the boy back to Cuba.

Meissner told reporters at a news conference that Juan Miguel Gonzalez had the right to speak for his son, Elian. The boy has been staying with relatives in Miami since his rescue, and just started attending school this week.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has mandated that the boy must be returned to Cuba no later than Jan. 14, but no other details were given.

"There is no question that Mr. Gonzalez is Elian's father. Moreover, Mr. Gonzalez has had a close and continuous personal relationship with his son," said Meissner. "The core issue here is the bond between the parent and the child. We need to observe that and uphold that."

Elian has been living with extended family in Miami. His relatives have received support from Cuban exiles in the United States, who have vocally demanded that he be allowed to stay. The Cuban government has demanded that he be returned to his father in Cuba.

"It is our hope that with the knowledge of today's decision, the Miami relatives will agree to cooperate and work together with either Elian's father or a third party to facilitate Elian's return to his father," Meissner said.

The INS held meetings with the boy's father and with the relatives in Miami before coming to the decision to send him back to Cuba.

"We urge everyone involved to understand, respect and uphold the bond between parent and child and the laws of the United States," she said.

Although the INS has not considered the offer made by Nicholson to pay for the cost of Gonzalez to come to America and speak freely about his desires, the agency has asked Cuban officials to permit Gonzalez to personally travel to Miami to accompany his son home.

"INS has also offered Elian's great uncle in Miami and any member of his Miami family an opportunity to escort Elian back to Cuba. In addition, third parties have offered to assist in facilitating Elian's return to his father," said Meissner.

Nicholson said he offered to bring Gonzalez and all his family members to Miami so that it would be certain he could speak freely without fear of reprisals from Castro.

"Bringing Elian's father here by himself would not ensure that he would be able to speak freely, because as everyone knows, Castro's dictatorship is not above using family members as hostages," explained Nicholson.

He said he would personally pay for the roundtrip airfare, meals, and lodging for Gonzalez and any family members he would like to bring with him "to make a free expression of his views."

President Bill Clinton approved of the INS action, according to White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart.

"I think the President believes that the INS went about this the proper way and have brought together the facts and are correctly interpreting the law as written," Lockhart said at a press briefing.

He confirmed that the president was aware of the decision before it was made public. He said the president believes the INS has acted appropriately and fairly.

Nicholson disagrees.

"Rather than deliver this boy to a life of repression, Clinton and Gore should stand up to Castro and insist that the intentions of Elian's family in Cuba be known -- intentions they can freely express only when they are outside the clutches of Castro's police state," explained Nicholson.

"Instead of letting INS bureaucrats send this boy into the arms of the Castro regime, Clinton and Gore should have done what they promised in the first place -- allow his fate to be decided by a court here on free American soil, in a manner consistent with the principles of human rights, political asylum and parental rights as freely expressed," Nicholson added.

"I think many have expressed views that are legitimate in trying to compare and contrast our society," said Lockhart. "There are certain obvious benefits to anyone to grow up in a society that's free and open, that enjoy the kind of freedoms that Americans do. I mean, there are many people around the world who envy the culture and society in which we all live here. But I think there are also many who understand the sanctity of family bonds and how important those are.

"But I think, ultimately, those who enjoy the freedom and democracy here understand that we are a country of laws, we are a country that follows them and applies them fairly, in a way that reinforces our democracy and our freedom. And that's what INS has done in this case," said Lockhart.

He also added that there are no plans by President Clinton to seek changes to current INS laws and regulations to avoid a similar problem in the future.

Nicholson said his offer still stands, and hopes public opinion will force President Clinton and the INS to revise their plans to deport the young refugee.

He said he was outraged by the "high-handed, ham-handed decision by Clinton-Gore bureaucrats to use the fate of a six-year-old boy to appease Fidel Castro."