Posted on 01/26/2009 11:11:06 AM PST by Jet Jaguar
A rule quietly imposed by the Bush administration right before Barack Obama was elected president remains in place.
It requires immigration agents to get approval from higher-ups before arresting fugitives in cases where the arrest might generate what Homeland Security terms "negative media or congressional interest."
The department's directive was issued October 31st, hours before The Associated Press disclosed the illegal status of Obama's aunt from Kenya. Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUH'-nee awn-YAHN'-goh), was instructed to leave the country four years ago but never left. She spent time in Boston and is now reportedly living in Cleveland.
She's fighting deportation and was in Washington for Obama's inauguration last week.
The White House says it will not get involved, and Onyango's case will be handled like any other.
Correction: Obama-Aunt
The Associated Press
http://www.thestate.com/nationalpolitics/story/664262.html
WASHINGTON — In initial versions of a Jan. 26 story about a new federal rule requiring high-level approval for arrests of immigration fugitives, The Associated Press, relying on information from Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reported erroneously that the rule remained in effect.
Nantel now says the directive was lifted at the end of November, weeks after the election. High-level approval is no longer required for such arrests.
Public relations.
Update
Zeituni Onyango was granted a stay in her deportation case by a judge in Cleveland, where she now lives, allowing her to stay in the country while her case is decided, according to NewsNet5, a broadcaster in Cleveland. A hearing is scheduled for April 1.
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