Obama's Aunt Convenient Political Football for Government

by Dave Bennion

Published November 01, 2008 @ 08:59AM PT

Immigration may become a campaign issue in this presidential election after all, despite the best efforts of both the candidates.  From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.

Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), referred to as ''Aunti Zeituni'' in the Democratic presidential candidate's memoir, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request, a person familiar with the matter told the AP late Friday. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to discuss Onyango's case.

Reading between the lines here, it seems that someone in EOIR or DHS leaked this information to the AP.  It is not accurate that "no one" is authorized to discuss the case.  I can discuss it.  You can discuss it.  Onyango can discuss it.  The people who can't discuss it publicly are Onyango's attorney and the government lawyers, judge, and law enforcement officials involved with the case.  But some government employee violated the rules that govern their conduct by disclosing confidential information to the press.

Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.

. . .

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kelly Nantel, said the government does not comment on an individual's citizenship status or immigration case.

But it will freely leak that information to the press, it seems . . .

Onyango's case -- coming to light just days before the presidential election -- led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring that any deportations before Tuesday's election be approved at least at the level of the agency's regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.

The unusual directive suggests that the administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango's case coming to light so close to the election.

It looks like we'll be having a pre-election conversation about immigration after all.