Curiously, the INS took umbrage to recently aired charges that its Miami employees were ordered to destroy ``anything derogatory to the Elián González case.''

A labor lawyer representing INS employees who made the charge even described an offensive coffee-cup holder -- it bore both a stopwatch showing 154, a reference to the seconds it took for immigration officials to remove Elián from his Little Havana home, and an image of a Cuban flag inside a red circle with a diagonal line through it.

``These types of assertions are inflammatory,'' an INS statement said. ``They mislead the public.''

Frankly, the public could easily judge for itself if the INS were more open and accountable when charges of employee misconduct surface.

Remember the six Cuban men who attempted to land on Surfside Beach in 1999? We still await the findings regarding allegations that Border Patrol and INS agents harassed the six men while in their custody. If the Florida INS District were more forthcoming in such incidents, then the public might find it more credible when other allegations of discrimination are made.