INS ANNOUNCES THAT WELL-KNOWN ASYLUM SEEKER IS AN IMPOSTER

An INS investigation has determined that a well-known asylum seeker is an imposter.  The woman known as Adelaide Abankwah, from the West African nation Ghana, claims that she was chosen to be the female leader of her tribe after the death of her mother who held the same position, a position that requires virginity.  She said that if forced to return, it would be discovered that she was not a virgin, she would be forced to undergo female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation.

The story attracted the attention of human rights activists and feminist groups, and garnered extensive media attention.  After being detained for more than two years, and having her asylum application denied by both an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals, a federal appeals court approved the application and ordered Abankwah released from detention.

The INS now says that an investigation has concluded that Abankwah’s story was a lie and that she is not in fact Adelaide Abankwah, but Regina Norman Danson.  In an interview with the Washington Post, she admitted that she lied about her identity, but said that the rest of the story was true.  The INS, however, obtained much documentation and many affidavits from Ghana proving that her mother was not dead, that her mother had never been the tribal leader, and that Danson had worked in a hotel before coming to the US.

Many are concerned that Danson was too easily able to subvert US asylum laws.  When she applied for entry, immigration inspectors immediately suspected that her passport had been altered, and they began expedited removal proceedings.  When she expressed a fear to being returned to Ghana, she was placed in detention and allowed to pursue an asylum claim.  Because so many real asylum claims are difficult, or impossible, to prove with corroborating evidence, and because people who are being persecuted by their government often cannot obtain a passport or other form of identification, US asylum law is designed to be generous.

The immigration judge ruled against her, noting that Ghana had outlawed female circumcisions in 1994, and that it had never been widespread in the area from which she came from.  Therefore, he found that her claim to fear persecution was not reasonable.  He also found that there was some doubt as to her identity.  The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed this decision.  Shortly afterward, her case came to the attention of activists, who began lobbying the INS and the Administration to release her.

In July 1999, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, and granted Danson asylum.  The court found that the Board had demanded a too exacting standard of evidence.  It did not mention the issues related to her identity.

The INS, believing that Danson was not telling the truth, began an investigation of her and assembled what it called “overwhelming evidence” of fraud.  The INS recommended more than a year ago that Danson be prosecuted for fraud, but according to unnamed US officials, the Justice Department is hesitant to pursue the case because of negative publicity.  According to other unnamed INS officials, there was pressure from the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to reach a resolution favorable to Danson, and the administration as a whole desired her release to end criticism of the government.

There is a real Adelaide Abankwah, who is living in Maryland.  Her passport was stolen in Ghana four years ago.  She had not come forward before now because she does not have valid status in the US, and feared that she would be deported.  She is now cooperating with the INS in hopes that she will be able to legalize her status.