Rep. Charles Rangel has asked Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer
to rescue special legislation aimed at sparing the mother of
police-shooting victim Amadou Diallo from being forced out of the
country, The Post has learned. In two recent letters, Rangel (D-Harlem)
pleaded with Clinton and Schumer to get involved in his effort, which
he says is essential to preventing the Diallo family from being thrown
out of the country this coming summer because of their status.
Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the death of the unarmed
Diallo in a hail of police bullets after four cops believed he was
reaching for a gun when they sought to question him. Rangel's
letters were obtained by The Post and illustrate his growing
frustration with both Clinton and Schumer, who last year resisted his
bid to help the Diallos, who are from Africa. "I hope I can count
on you to introduce companion legislation in the Senate," Rangel, the
senior member of New York's congressional delegation, wrote to
Clinton. "As a member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
your support is vital to the success of the initiative to assist the
Diallo family," Rangel emphasized in a separate letter to
Schumer. But Clinton and Schumer both declined to comment
yesterday on Rangel's bill. The legislation would grant permanent
resident status to nearly a dozen of Diallo's extended family but is
specifically aimed at his mother, Kadiatou, who has been active in a
foundation established in the United States in Amadou's name. [more