Custody Battle Sparks Debate over Children’s, Parents’ Rights

By Sarah Harper

Published on September 28, 2007

Florida’s Miami-Dade Circuit Court is conducting proceedings in the custody case of a 5-year-old Cuban girl. The girl’s biological father, Rafael Izquierdo, is battling her Cuban-American foster parents, Joe and Maria Cubas, for permanent custody of the child. Although Izquierdo has been deemed a fit parent, the Florida Department of Children and Families and the child’s court-appointed guardian ad litem are seeking to remove guardianship rights from Izquierdo and grant rights permanently to the Cubases.

The Cubases claim that removing the child from their custody would be detrimental to her emotional health, since she has closely bonded with them. According to the Florida Department of Children & Families, the girl would prefer to remain with the Cubases, who have also adopted her half brother. The case raises issues of whose rights – parents' or children's – should take precedence in determining custody. It also highlights potential discrepancies between Florida and federal custody laws.

The Cubas family attorney claims that the state of Florida is entitled to protect a child from imminent harm and, as such, may prevent the separation of the girl from her foster parents. However, according to a report in the Miami Herald on Sept. 28, Izquierdo’s attorney, Ira Kurzban, claims that federal law gives parents a fundamental right to raise their children.

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