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Back in Boston, Obama’s Aunt Fighting Deportation

More news stories on Barack Obama

Maria Sacchetti, Boston Globe, March 24, 2009

President Barack Obama’s aunt, a Kenyan immigrant who ignited controversy last year for living in the United States illegally, has returned to her quiet apartment in a Boston public housing project to prepare for an April 1 deportation hearing that will be closed to the public.

Zeituni Onyango, a tall, frail-looking woman in her late 50s who walks with a cane, had fled Boston to stay with relatives in Cleveland last fall after media attention erupted over her case. She was spotted at Obama’s inaugural festivities in January and, according to neighbors, returned to Boston a few weeks ago for her third attempt to fight removal from the United States. She had been living in the country illegally since she was ordered deported in 2004.

Now the woman Obama called “Auntie Zeituni” and described as a kindly woman who kissed him on both cheeks and guided him during his trip to Kenya 20 years ago, is in a national spotlight, where her case is seen as a test of the Obama administration’s commitment to enforcing immigration laws. Critics, outraged that she is living in taxpayer-funded public housing while thousands of citizens and legal immigrants are on waiting lists, are scrutinizing the case for political favoritism. Others caution that she may have legitimate grounds to stay in the United States.

{snip}

Onyango’s fate will play out behind closed doors before Judge Leonard Shapiro in Boston. Onyango’s lawyer, Margaret Wong of Ohio, successfully argued to reopen her case in December and have the proceedings closed to the public, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts.

{snip}

Shapiro, an immigration judge since 1990, rejected 68 percent of asylum requests from 2002 to 2007, higher than the state and national averages, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Asylum seekers must show that they fear persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group.

{snip}

She came to the United States in 2000 to find work and to seek a better life. Though she was ordered deported in 2004, she remained in the United States undetected until just before Election Day.

{snip}

“She’s a very nice lady who wants to live her life,” said Ramos [Aida Ramos, a neighbor]. “Because she’s Obama’s aunt she’s getting all this attention she didn’t even want.

Original article

(Posted on March 26, 2009)

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Comments

1 — Colonel Taylor wrote at 5:57 PM on March 26:

I’m just curious, besides his mother, is there ANYBODY in the Obama clan that wasn’t born in Kenya?

2 — Question Diversity wrote at 6:11 PM on March 26:

Two theories on this aunt:

(1) VDare thinks that Obama won’t intervene on her behalf, in order to promulgate the image of “tough on illegal aliens, even if it’s his own family.” That to grease the skids for amnesty.

(2) I can’t remember where I heard this, but this aunt supposedly spilled the beans on his actually being born in Kenya, and in 1961, U.S. immigration law did not consider children born to one American citizen parent and one non-citizen parent and born outside of the U.S. to be citizens. If this is true, then President Obama is punishing her.

3 — Tim in Indiana wrote at 6:49 PM on March 26:

This is eerily third world. Imagine if the race was white and you had a white president whose aunt is an illegal alien. It would be a national scandal! The president would look like a heel for trying to ignore or downplay the issue as Obama is doing. The aunt would look petty for wanting to continue to live in a country illegally when it is embarrassing the President. The country she is from would look like a horrible place if she were so reluctant to go back there. Plus, consider the contempt this displays for our nation’s laws—from the very highest office, no less. This is not the kind of controversy you would expect in a civilized nation. And yet, the media is generally oblivious to this bizarre third world soap opera. It is truly sickening what depths this country has fallen to.

4 — Tall Texan wrote at 7:13 PM on March 26:

“She’s a very nice lady who wants to live her life,” said Ramos [Aida Ramos, a neighbor]. “Because she’s Obama’s aunt she’s getting all this attention she didn’t even want.

So let her stay? Didn’t we let her nephew stay! Why should the good ole government change now.

5 — Svigor wrote at 7:20 PM on March 26:

We all know that America is the US of KKA, racist to the bone, oppresses non-whites, etc. So why can’t we deport border-jumpers from South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East? Why can’t we drag them away? Are these people, in their millions, all insane? Masochists? Ignorant rubes who just don’t know any better? I suppose the ones who stay here long enough to get a steady dose of American racism, xenophobia, and racial oppression are leaving by the millions?

6 — SKIP wrote at 7:23 PM on March 26:

I’m sure she will be allowed to stay, returning her to Kenya could leave her as a possible hostage for leverage against the Obamaster.

7 — Eric wrote at 7:25 PM on March 26:

From what I can tell, it is almost impossible to deport non-whites from this country. There is no will from those in charge to apply our laws to non-whites. On the other hand the authorities are more than willing to expel whites who have overstayed by a matter of days with vigor.

8 — Mark wrote at 9:57 PM on March 26:

She’s here at taxpayers’ expense; she’ll need food shelter, gas, electrical, medical, and dental.

I say, let her stay at the expense of anyone who is willing to support her for the rest of her life, but don’t burden the taxpayers’ further.

9 — Sardonicus wrote at 11:38 AM on March 27:

With increasing unemployment it seems irrational to allow illegal aliens to continue to take advantage of government handouts denied to the rest of us. She may be a “kindly” lady but she has no business being here illegally.

10 — Nick wrote at 12:53 PM on March 27:

I’m confused.

I thought black people were constantly mistreated in this country and were brought here from Africa against their will.

But this black woman wants to stay here.

11 — Herman wrote at 1:00 PM on March 27:

Obama is black only when it suits him.

The fact his “aunt” is living in public housing shows he hasn’t lifted a finger for her.

12 — Anonymous wrote at 1:17 PM on March 27:

If obama is a natural born citizen he should be able to produce a “consular birth certificate”. This type of birth certificate is issued by the United States Embassy in the foreign country and confers birth on American soil.
obama was born in Kenya. his birth certificate is from Kenya; he is naturalized and thus is ineligible to be president of the USA.
His “aunt” probably knows a lot more than he would like to have revealed.

13 — Anonymous wrote at 3:23 PM on March 27:

“Asylum seekers must show that they fear persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group.”

Clearly her only claim would be “political opinion,” likely based on her family being a part of Kenya’s opposition party. Yet, her nephew, Barry O, is President of the U.S. His status, as such, won’t protect her? Is not inability to extent the cover of his position to her an admission that he’s the weakest president yet? Weaker than even the Kenyan ruling elites?

14 — Anonymous wrote at 6:45 PM on March 27:

I hope that if she is finally forced to vacate her free government apartment it is given to one of the many homeless native born Americans in time for next winter’s cold.

Her chances of being deported are about ten million to one.

15 — Anonymous wrote at 3:39 PM on March 28:

“She’s a very nice lady who wants to live her life,”

The “nice” lady came here at age 50 to live her life? HOW? At the expense of the taxpayers? Oh yeah, that’s a “nice” lady.

16 — Anonymous wrote at 12:21 PM on March 29:

Question Diversity wrote: I can’t remember where I heard this, but this aunt supposedly spilled the beans on his actually being born in Kenya, and in 1961, U.S. immigration law did not consider children born to one American citizen parent and one non-citizen parent and born outside of the U.S. to be citizens. If this is true, then President Obama is punishing her.

That was the subject of debate on another forum. It was his grandmother that supposedly said he was born in Kenya, not the Aunt. The issue arose because in the 60’s his mother would have had to be 21 years old in order to have a baby outside the U.S. and have the baby considered a natural born U.S. citizen. She was under 21. I can’t remember the details but that was the jist of it.

17 — Anonymous wrote at 5:11 PM on March 31:

““Asylum seekers must show that they fear persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group.”

Clearly her only claim would be “political opinion,” likely based on her family being a part of Kenya’s opposition party.”

Isn’t her tribe’s political party in power now?


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