Before I take off for canvassing, the Washington Post reports this morning:
“The Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether its privacy policy was violated after a news organization reported that an aunt of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama is an illegal immigrant from Kenya, officials said yesterday”
The AP’s original story cited an unnamed federal law enforcement official. Whoever he was, his action was illegal:
“Federal privacy law restricts U.S. immigration agencies from disclosing information about citizens and permanent residents, and DHS policy similarly limits disclosures about the status of legal and illegal immigrants. Asylum-seekers are granted greater protection, because of the sensitive nature of their claims and the risks of retaliation.”
The matter has been referred to the Immigration and Customs agency’s “Office of Professional Responsibility.” (Any Bush administration agency with a nice-sounding title has earned the scare quotes.) So kudos to the Post for pointing this out; too bad the illegally leaked non-story was leading their website yesterday. With two days left, here’s hoping that’s end of the November surprises.
