AP: Obama's aunt from Kenya living in US illegally
By EILEEN SULLIVAN and ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Writers Eileen Sullivan And Elliot Spagat, Associated Press Writers
20 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.
Zeituni Onyango, 56, referred to as "Aunti Zeituni" in Obama's memoir, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request, a person familiar with the matter told the AP late Friday. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to discuss Onyango's case.
Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.
Onyango's refusal to leave the country would represent an administrative, non-criminal violation of U.S. immigration law, meaning such cases are handled outside the criminal court system. Estimates vary, but many experts believe there are more than 10 million such immigrants in the United States.
The AP could not reach Onyango immediately for comment. No one answered the telephone number listed in her name late Friday. It was unclear why her request for asylum was rejected in 2004. The Obama campaign declined to comment late Friday night.
Onyango is not a relative whom Obama has discussed in campaign appearances and, unlike Obama's father and grandmother, is not someone who has been part of the public discussion about his personal life.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kelly Nantel, said the government does not comment on an individual's citizenship status or immigration case.
Onyango's case — coming to light just days before the presidential election — led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring any deportations prior to Tuesday's election to be approved at least at the level of ICE regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.
The unusual directive suggests that the Bush administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango's case coming to light so close to the election.
Kenya is in eastern Africa between Somalia and Tanzania. The country has been fractured in violence in recent years, including a period of two months of bloodshed after December 2007 that killed 1,500 people.
The disclosure about Onyango came just one day after Obama's presidential campaign confirmed to the Times of London that Onyango, who has lived quietly in public housing in South Boston for five years, was Obama's half aunt on his father's side.
It was not immediately clear how Onyango might have qualified for public housing with a standing deportation order.
- Re: Obama's aunt from Kenya living in US illegallyposted on 11/01/2008
It was not immediately clear how Onyango might have qualified for public housing with a standing deportation order.
does anyone has an idea? - Re: Obama's aunt from Kenya living in US illegallyposted on 11/01/2008
I don't care. Is it even relevant?
Actually I wonder why nobody seems to care about Palin's "abuse of power", which is much more relevant, as she could potentially abuse much more power. - Re: Obama's aunt from Kenya living in US illegallyposted on 11/01/2008
Well, but the rule of law does care. If the President of the United States has a close relative being an illegal alien in this country, that sure won't be something he can be proud of.
Let's see how President Obama clean up his own closet mess.
gz wrote:
I don't care. Is it even relevant?
Actually I wonder why nobody seems to care about Palin's "abuse of power", which is much more relevant. - Re: Obama's aunt from Kenya living in US illegallyposted on 11/01/2008
the issue is the honesty.
Obama just said he is not aware that his aunt is an illegal.
gz wrote:
I don't care. Is it even relevant?
Actually I wonder why nobody seems to care about Palin's "abuse of power", which is much more relevant, as she could potentially abuse much more power. - Re: Obama's aunt from Kenya living in US illegallyposted on 11/01/2008
Only if he has been aware of this all along and is lying about it would this become an issue of honesty. - Re: obama's closet messposted on 11/01/2008
his pastor is a radical,
his aunt is an illegal
his wife is someone who wasn't proud of this country until last last year
his neighbor and co-land-owner is a convict with corruption
- Re: obama's closet messposted on 11/01/2008
Our great party GOP can't even beat this guy up!
pepper wrote:
his pastor is a radical,
his aunt is an illegal
his wife is someone who wasn't proud of this country until last last year
his neighbor and co-land-owner is a convict with corruption
- Re: obama's closet messposted on 11/01/2008
SevenStar wrote:
Our great party GOP can't even beat this guy up!
just like our great party cannot beat the dumb Bush?
- Re: obama's closet messposted on 11/01/2008
His aunt attended Obama's 2004 swear-in as a new senator, but Obama claimed he didn't know who helped her to come to USA. - Re: obama's closet messposted on 11/01/2008
2004年我们没有苯拉灯同志帮忙。
你今晚可别太激动,好好睡一觉。明天苯拉灯同志又会来帮你忙的。
pepper wrote:
just like our great party cannot beat the dumb Bush?
- Re: obama's closet messposted on 11/01/2008
Don't worry, credit crunch is more effective than 苯拉灯.
SevenStar wrote:
2004年我们没有苯拉灯同志帮忙。
你今晚可别太激动,好好睡一觉。明天苯拉灯同志又会来帮你忙的。
pepper wrote:
just like our great party cannot beat the dumb Bush?
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