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Douglas Daily News Robert Preston, Jr. The Douglas News Federal Magistrate Dismisses Yarberry's Motion for Release DOUGLAS — A federal magistrate judge has dismissed a petition filed on behalf of Paola Yarberry asking for immediate release from the Gadsden, Ala., detention facility in which she is being held. The court documents, obtained by The Douglas News and dated Dec. 27, 2007, establish that Yarberry is in fact an illegal alien. According to the documents, Yarberry moved to the United States from Venezuela when she was five years old. She was adopted by her aunt, a U.S. citizen, on April 27, 1998. Yarberry apparently left the United States and returned on Jan. 12, 1999. The documents state that she was admitted back into the U.S. as a non-immigrant visitor "with permission to remain in the United States until July 12, 1999." However, the documents say that Yarberry stayed beyond that date. On Aug. 5, 2002, Yarberry attempted to change her status as an adopted child of an American citizen. However, her adopted mother did not appear at the hearing. In 2005, Yarberry attempted to re-open the application. The hearing was held on Sept. 27, 2006 — one week after the murder of Doris Worrell, with whom Yarberry was living at the time. Once again, Yarberry's adopted mother failed to show and the application "was deemed abandoned and denied on Sept. 27, 2006." The documents further state that on April 30, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report that named Yarberry as a "person of interest" in the murder of Doris Worrell because Yarberry was inside the building when the fatal shooting took place. The following day, on May 1, Yarberry was arrested in Douglas. On May 10, 2007, the first bond hearing took place. The documents state that the DHS opposed bond for several reasons, not the least of which was Yarberry's presence inside the building when Worrell was murdered. In May, the DHS found that Yarberry was supposed to attend an inspection appointment in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 27, 1999, regarding her re-entry into the U.S. According to the documents, she did not appear at the inspection and was categorized as an arriving alien. The legal wrangling continued through May, with attorneys on both sides filing various motions and petitions. Yarberry's attorneys have said that holding Yarberry without bond is a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and her constitutional rights. However, the federal magistrate believes otherwise. The court ruled that Yarberry "does not appear to dispute that she is an arriving alien seeking admission into the United States." And under the INA, the judge wrote that the attorney general has broad discretion in determining whether or not an illegal alien is released. The court also wrote that the attorney general's authority in such matters is now exercised by the secretary of the DHS, who delegates the duties to other DHS officials. The section of the INA that deals with these duties "precludes judicial review of any discretionary decision made by the attorney general or the secretary of the DHS." Regarding Yarberry's case, the DHS decided that Yarberry should not be granted parole or bond because of the circumstances of her case. Because she is challenging a discretionary decision by the attorney general through DHS, the judge wrote that her court doesn't have jurisdiction over the case. Additionally, the judge wrote that the petition was filed in the wrong court. It should have been filed in the Northern District of Alabama and the warden of the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden, Ala., should have been named as a respondent. The judge wrote that because her court does not have jurisdiction over the case, the petition should be dismissed. Yarberry's attorneys have other motions pending. She is still being held in Gadsden. No arrests have been made in the Doris Worrell murder. A phone call to Yarberry's attorney in Atlanta was not immediately returned.
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