Brooklyn Minister Chibueze Okorie Denied the Right to Stay in the U.S., Former Bush Clemency Lawyer Roger Adams Made Racial Slur

According to the NY Daily News, the feds have refused to let Brooklyn minister Chibueze Okorie, 47, stay in the U.S. even though the Bush administration's top clemency lawyer got bounced for making an ethnic slur about the application.

The Daily News states that Okorie had hoped his nearly 20 years of good works as a lay minister for the Church of Gethsemane in Park Slope would count against his 1989 drug arrest. The problem is that the Nigerian immigrant served 18 months for acting as a driver for an East New York heroin ring. He then turned his life around to become a lay Presbyterian minister and helped save dozens of other ex-cons from a life of crime.

It seems that his plea for a presidential pardon, which would enable him to get a green card and become a U.S. citizen, had won support from a variety of elected officials, including Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Daily News reported in July that former U.S. Pardon Attorney Roger Adams recommended President Bush reject Okorie's pardon request. Yes, but he had to make a racist comment. He reportedly said: "This might sound racist but [the applicant] is about as honest as you could expect for a Nigerian. Unfortunately, that's not very honest." Not all Nigerians are dishonest and it is clearly wrong to judge this man on that basis.

The Justice Department's inspector general exposed Adams' comments last December. He was fired after the inspector general found Adams "appeared to have improperly considered one applicant's Nigerian origin when deciding not to recommend clemency for that applicant."

According to the Daily News, pardon office staff then pulled back Okorie's application, for more review, but he was recently notified that his application was denied on Aug. 28. The notifications did not say why he was denied. His lawyer is trying to get an answer from pardon officials.

An immigration hearing is set for Dec. 28, and Okorie fears he will be deported."I call America my country. I have been working, making a contribution to the society," Okorie said Thursday. "It is very difficult right now."

I am also an immigrant, but I came here legally and I became naturalized many eons ago. The problem for this man is that you cannot break the law and expect to be allowed to stay. I know that he had changed his life and has done a lot of good in his community. He has been here for 20 years and I guess that should account for something. I am against illegal immigration and how he managed to stay under the radar is amazing. As a Christian, I believe that God already made a way for him, but that way might be in Nigeria, where I know he can do a lot of good as well. Funny, President Clinton could pardon a wealthy criminal Marc Rich and I suspect that President Bush may pardon some "choice" people as well. It seems a little unfair that nobody gave this man the time of day.

The article did not say whether or not he had a family or not. I always thought the American government's desire is not to break families up. On that basis he should be allowed to stay and to live within strict guidelines, which should not lead to citizenship.