Who monitors civil servants?

I am so angry I could spit. I've been married to a German citizen since 1980, and living in Germany on a permanent basis since 1982. I've had a permanent residence permit since 1987. I just got a new passport, and went to the county's immigration office this afternoon to get my residence permit transferred from my old passport to the new one, and to register the new passport number. That was no problem, but the young woman who dealt with everything told me she was in the midst of reviewing my file, because there were some irregularities, and if I hadn't come in, I would've heard from her next week.
The civil servant who was formerly responsible for people whose last names also start with "B" was fired a few months ago (that's serious: civil servants can only be fired for severe misconduct). It seems that he had something against binational marriages, and didn't observe the laws. I got my permanent residence permit in 1987, with the proviso that I couldn't be "self-employed". The guy also insisted that I have a form signed by my "landlord" stating that my home was a certain size (we have owned our house since 1982, so I had to get my husband to sign as my "landlord" - that was bad enough.) In 1993, I was offered a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity: I was offered the chance to take over control of a state-accredited private junior college; I had to turn the offer down because that would've meant I was self-employed. Today I was told that the proviso was illegal (it has been removed), the form my husband had to sign was unnecessary, and that as late as 1994, after we'd been married for 14 years, the man had a note saying, "sham marriage?" in my file!!! And I'm not an isolated case. Others are going to sue. I haven't decided what to do. The man has already been fired and has lost his pension benefits; on the other hand, it took his superiors at least 23.5 years to notice they had a xenophobe working in immigration.

Dual citizenship is permitted if you marry a citizen of a Middle Eastern country, where child custody automatically goes to the husband. Because I live in Germany, I would have to renounce my U.S. citizenship if I became a German citizen. My citizenship is part of my identity, and I also promised my parents that I wouldn't give it up. My husband and I have also not ruled out the possibility of moving to the U.S. once we retire. I'm very angry, but I have a job I really like, and we get by financially. Other people this man "preyed upon" were deported, or denied the right to bring relatives to this country. On the one hand, I don't want to waste time and money pushing the matter in court; on the other hand, I feel that basic human rights were violated, and the local government did nothing. The young woman I talked to today felt that I should pursue the matter, because I'm a U.S. citizen, and thus have "more rights" than people from the Third World, and because I've been married to a German citizen for over half my life, so the "sham marriage" claim just doesn't cut it.

I've decided not to litigate - I have enough hassle at the moment. However, I've put together a file of documents outlining this guy's decisions, and how they've affected my professional life. I've also talked to a few possible, and willing, witnesses, regarding the potential financial losses I suffered. (It pays to be a pack rat). I've reached two attorneys representing other victims of this guy's xenophobia, and have appointments with them next week. I'm perfectly willing to testify against him. I doubt that he'll suffer more than he already has (loss of his job and pension benefits), but maybe some judges will take note. That might be too optimistic - Germany officially doesn't apply common law, but statute law. Unfortunately, I feel that "Dubya's" refusal to recognize international law will probably affect the case; thus my decision not to litigate. Another reason for me to advise people not to vote for the guy in November! Quite frankly, anti-American sentiment has, in my lifetime, never been higher than at present. Dubya and his hand-picked cronies (chosen by whom - Cheney, Bush, Sr., Wolfowitz?) have made life extremely difficult for those of us Americans who live outside the U.S. for whatever reason (personal, business, military). He has undermined U.S. credibility to such an extent that any U.S. citizens living abroad may have to feel they have to decry him, in order to be able to live a "normal life".

Jim, I just read the article - what an outrage! Is the US trying to fill the "void" left by the former Eastern Bloc? Is this going to eventually lead to another Kent State? I know that phone calls here in Germany have been "monitored", or at least "spot checked", for decades by U.S. intelligence services. There was never any secret about it. I have to assume that any "anti-Bush" posts on a site such as this might also attract attention.
I just got off the phone with my mom, who is extremely anti-Bush. She was describing him as a little boy playing soldier-king. Apparently he and his cronies also like to play cloaks and daggers. Obviously, after 9-11 vigilance is called for, but within reason! I think she'll decide to come live with us if he is re-elected.

I laugh at the thought of my 72-year-old, monolingual, ailing mother, until a few years ago a Republican party member, who has always worried about me living in a foreign country, packing her bags and her two rather large dogs and cat and moving here because she can't bear to see what is happening to her homeland - yes, it's not funny.