Bush lifted "Auntie Zeituni Rule" after election

Shortly before the election, it was learned that Barack Obama's aunt - Auntie Zeituni - had been living in the U.S. as an illegal alien for years. He quickly threw her under the bus and returned the small donations she'd illegally made to his campaign. Few but me were interested in using the incident to show he was heartless and calculating. She later got an immigration lawyer, something that Obama could have done but did not do.

And, shortly before the news came out, the Department of Homeland Security reportedly required all deportations to be approved by high-level officials; the directive appears however to have actually involved only high profile deportations.

Now, Ted Bridis and Eileen Sullivan of the Associated Press inform us that the AP has received documents about that directive obtained under the FOIA (link):

The Homeland Security Department reversed itself Monday, saying that weeks after the presidential election it lifted a new rule requiring high-level approval before federal agents nationwide could arrest fugitive immigrants.

...The directive expressed concerns about "negative media or congressional interest," according to a newly disclosed federal document obtained by The Associated Press...

...(ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel) said the directive called for close supervision over any cases that could be high profile. She said it was not specific to Obama's relatives...

The White House said late Sunday that the Obama administration wasn't briefed on why the directive was issued. It said Obama "has not contacted any government agency regarding Ms. Onyango's case, nor has any representative of the president."

Mon, 01/26/2009 - 16:35 · · Importance: 4