I want to start out by saying that what happened to al-Obeidi was a very, very despicable thing. I think that she definitely needs asylum from Libya. I am glad she made it out alive.
That said when I was reading this story I could not help but think of the double standard at play here. How many immigrants get a private plane to our country? Why is she coming "to continue her studies" when other immigrants can not do the same due to the failure of the Dream Act being voted into law? The cynical side of me can not help but wonder about how quickly she managed to get permission to enter our country when it takes south americans usually many, many years more. To me this seems like a Washington publicity stunt in which al-Obeidi is being used as a photo-op by the powers that be while our broken immigration system continues to function badly as it always has in recent times. Just imagine though how wonderful it would be for every immigrant if the system could function this quickly when they tried to get temporary citizenship.
Shining a light on Corrections Corporation of America's (CCA) Stewart Detention Center
