Appeals Court Stops Release

It is clear that President Obama should grant refugee status to the 17 Uighurs still imprisoned at Guantanamo (Appeals Court Stops Release of 17 Detainees, New York Times, February 17, 2009: A18). We should not forget that there are also 5 Uighurs languishing in a refugee camp in Albania who were sent there under George W. Bush's watch. They too should be brought back and released in the United States.

Colin Powell famously said: “If it’s broken, you own it.” We have broken the lives of these Uighurs. We need to do all we can to fix them, not deport them to Albania, nor keep them locked up in Guantanamo.

Bring them to the United States now.