A federal immigration appeals court has sided with a Chicago immigration judge's decision to grant asylum to a teenage blogger from Singapore.
Attorneys for Amos Yee say they've received a Board of Immigration Appeals decision agreeing with the validity of the 18-year-old’s fear of being persecuted upon return to Singapore.
Yee is at a county jail outside Chicago, but attorney Sandra Grossman anticipates he'll be released soon.
His online posts mocking and criticizing the city-state's government twice landed him in a Singapore jail. He was first detained by U.S. immigration authorities in December at O'Hare International Airport.
Department of Homeland Security attorneys had opposed the asylum bid, saying Yee's case didn't qualify as persecution based on political beliefs. Messages left Tuesday for DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement weren't immediately returned.
