On The Front Lines
Dept. of Homeland Security Signs Motion to Re-Open Case of Gennady Denisenko, Russian Immigrant Denied Political Asylum
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- In the wake of a campaign launched by The Rutherford Institute to protest the detention and pending deportation of Charlottesville resident Gennady Denisenko and a subsequent outpouring of public outrage from individuals across the country, officials with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have now signed onto a joint motion to re-open Gennady Denisenko's immigration case. This move by the government to allow the Board of Immigration Appeals to re-open the case was Denisenko's final legal recourse. It now rests with the Board of Immigration Appeals to determine whether to change Denisenko's immigration status to reflect his marriage to an American citizen and allow him to remain in this country.
"This latest development speaks to the power of the people to bring about change. Acting in response to the letters I wrote to President Bush and our congressional representatives, hundreds of people made phone calls and wrote letters to Bush and the representatives, urging them to intervene on Gennady's behalf," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The fact that the media began covering this case and reporting on it also shows that the people can speak truth to power and move the bureaucracy in the right direction."
A former prosecuting attorney representing the Soviet government in his hometown of Krasnodar, Gennady Denisenko reportedly drew the ire of local politicos by trying to practice law independent of communist dogma. He was also a vocal proponent of democracy. Consequently, he was tagged by the KGB, stripped of his right to practice law and imprisoned in a labor camp in Siberia for several years. Denisenko converted to Christianity following his release from the labor camp. Like so many of his time, he fled his native land because he feared his political and religious beliefs would result in further reprisals by the repressive Soviet regime.
Aided by an American family, Gennady defected to the United States in 1991, seeking political asylum. Unfortunately, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Denisenko's request for asylum was rejected by the United States government, which cited a failure to show exceptional circumstances. Gennady's subsequent efforts to pursue all avenues available to him, including a request to have his asylum application be reopened and/or have his immigration status adjusted in light of his marriage to a U.S. citizen, have been to no avail. Indeed, they came to an abrupt halt in April 2008 when the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) requested that Gennady and Melinda Denisenko appear at an office in Northern Virginia to finalize their pending status adjustment application. However, when the Denisenkos arrived for their appointment, INS agents seized and handcuffed Gennady. He has been in INS custody, imprisoned in Texas, since then.
After being contacted by Denisenko's friends and family, The Rutherford Institute brought its weight to bear in the case, with Institute President John W. Whitehead issuing letters to President George W. Bush, Senators John Warner and Jim Webb and Congressman Virgil Goode and bringing the issue before the media.
