News
Obama’s aunt ‘allowed to stay in US’
Posted Saturday, February 6 2010 at 18:00
President Obama’s aunt, Zeituni Onyango, has been allowed to stay in the United States for the duration of her court battle against deportation.
An immigration judge on Thursday heard two hours of testimony from Ms Onyango, 57, and gave lawyers until mid-March to file written arguments.
Ms Onyango entered court in a wheelchair with a cane across her lap. She smiled, but did not speak to reporters.
Doctors also spoke on behalf of Ms Onyango, who has said she suffers from Guillain-Barré syndrome (an autoimmune disorder affecting the nervous system).
President Obama has not intervened for his aunt, who was found living in a housing project in Boston in 2008.
The White House said Mr Obama has had no involvement in his aunt’s case and believes it should run its ordinary course.
She went to the US in 2000 and was ordered out in 2004 after an asylum request was rejected, but she did not leave.
“She really wants to stay in America,” said her lawyer, Margaret Wong, according to the New York Daily News.
Ms Onyango is a half-sister to Obama’s father, whom Obama called “Auntie Zeituni” in his memoir Dreams from My Father. She applied for asylum in 2002, citing violence in Kenya.
In an interview in November, she told the Associated Press of her anguish at the possibility of some people using her immigration status to attack the American first family.
Ms Onyango sobbed as she described her anguish over no longer having contact with Mr Obama after the revelation she had been living illegally in the US.
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Submitted by mackshooterPosted February 09, 2010 07:55 PM
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Submitted by akadagi
Pain is temporaly,but pride is forever mama onyango,please leave and go back home,westlands nairobi where you used to live is better than Boston,its cold and lonely for your age,Go back home,asylum is given to war tone countries,the Pm will welcome you to the ODM Party.
Posted February 09, 2010 08:14 AM -
Submitted by alunalo
Can that woman come back to Kenya. For heavens sake she was living in the projects. I think she would have a better lifestyle in K'gelo. I too have no sympathy for Kenyans who pretend that they are being persecuted in Kenya and are looking for asylum. If I was Obama I would have her deported back to Kenya on the first flight out.
Posted February 09, 2010 08:12 AM -
Submitted by state
Any one would be stupid to assume that the President doesn't give a damn about his aunt. Its a PR game, do not appear like you are intervening, but the truth is someone is watching on behalf of the president. Aketch, I agree but its a mtter of personal preference. Just like most slum dwellers at home have vast land in rural areas, they have drives that attract them to the city.
Posted February 09, 2010 07:15 AM -
Submitted by onewordnep
Zeituni is already exposed to big risks. She can be kidnapped to see whether the first family will bail her out. Since the President has already lost both parents,It is just logical to give the first family a grandmother on compassionate grounds!
Posted February 09, 2010 07:06 AM
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The truth is that he is not helping her. He is living in the project. What does that tell you? I do not think he is helping her with lawyer fees either. The only thing I would like to remind Kenyans is that Obama is not a Kenyan and Americans do not treat their relatives the way we do it. Their wealth is their wealth. Ask those who are married to Americans. They are told to tell their 80 year old parents to get jobs when they send them money.