Obama’s aunt now says she has right to US citizenship
What you need to know:
- Zeituni says she is an immigrant and the country has an obligation to her
US President Barack Obama’s aunt, who was granted asylum in the US in May, believes being an immigrant, the US had an obligation to make her a citizen.
Ms Zeituni Onyango, 58, a half-sister of President Obama’s father, was speaking to a Boston TV station in her first interview since a judge ruled she could remain in the US.
“If I come as an immigrant, you have the obligation to make me a citizen,” she told WBZ-TV.
Ms Onyango had been living as an illegal immigrant until the court ruling in May this year by immigration judge Leonard Shapiro granting her asylum and allowing her to stay in the US.
She claimed that as a member of the Luo tribe, she faced danger if she returned to Kenya.
Aunt Zeituni, as she is known, admitted during the TV interview that she violated US immigration laws by overstaying her visa.
“I knew I had overstayed,” she said.
Ms Onyango came to the US in 2000. She sought asylum in 2004 but was ordered out of the country by Judge Shapiro. Ms Onyango however did not leave and stayed in hiding, though she was regularly seen in public.
Defending her use of public housing system despite her illegal status, Ms Onyango who lives in the Boston area said that she did not take advantage of the system but rather the system took advantage of her.
“I didn’t ask for it; they gave it to me. Ask your system. I didn’t create it or vote for it. Go and ask your system,” she said.
Public housing system is a program that offers government owned housing units made available to legal US residents and citizens who are low-income individuals and families at no cost or for nominal rental rates.
Ms Onyango moved into public housing after spending two years in a homeless shelter.
Despite her illegal status, she was able to obtain one of the units through the system.
Answering a question about unfairly getting the public housing ahead of those who had paid into the system she responded, “I don’t mind. You can take that house. I will be on the street with the homeless,” WBZ-TV reported on its website.
Ms Onyango asserted that when she came to the US she had every intention of returning to Kenya.
