It seems that "Jihad Jeannie" Butterfield will be leaving her longtime position as Executive Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association at the end of June. No reason was given, and it's too bad, because she was a great punching bag for immigration hawks. The reason for the nickname is that she was formerly executive director of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, a front group for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine described by David Horowitz in a 1991 National Review article as "one of the few groups in the world supporting Saddam's rape of Kuwait." (For details, see here and here.)
What prompted me to remark on it was this comment on her resignation from the main immigration-law daily newsletter: "Ms. Butterfield is certainly qualified for positions such as USCIS Director [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is the green card and citizenship part of the old INS], USCIS Chief Counsel, or similar DHS positions though based on our sources who are familiar with DHS appointments in the Obama Administration, she has not yet been extended an invitation (the immigration bar would of course be delighted to see her in a key DHS position)." Senate Republicans should quiver with anticipation at the prospect of the White House nominating Jihad Jeannie for anything. I can't imagine they'd do it, but we can always hope.
