Massachusetts: Asylum Request Redux
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Barack Obama’s aunt Zeituni Onyango will make a second bid for political asylum as she goes before an immigration judge in Boston on Thursday. Ms. Onyango moved to the United States in 2000. Her first asylum request was rejected, and she was ordered deported in 2004, but she continued to live in public housing in Boston. A judge later agreed to reopen her asylum case. [Source: The New York Times] The Associated Press | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Obama's aunt fights deportation: The Kenyan aunt of President Barack Obama, Zeituni Onyango, is to appear before an immigration judge to fight deportation. >>> | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Obama's Aunt Becomes Symbol in Immigration Debate
ASSOCIATED PRESS: BOSTON — Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt lost her bid for asylum more than four years ago, and a judge ordered her deported. Instead, Zeituni Onyango stayed, living for years in public housing.

Now, in a case that puts the president in a tough position both personally and politically, Onyango's request is being reconsidered under a little-used provision in U.S. immigration rules that allows denied asylum claims to be reheard if applicants can show that something has changed to make them eligible.

Such as the ascension of her nephew to the presidency of the world's most powerful country.

"If she goes back to Kenya, she is going to be much more in the limelight, and that, in and of itself, could put her at a greater risk. The chances of her going back and keeping a low profile are gone at this point," said Boston immigration attorney Ilana Greenstein.

Onyango, 56, the half-sister of Obama's late father, moved to the United States in 2000. Her first bid for asylum was rejected, and an immigration judge ordered her deported in 2004; she continues to live in public housing in Boston.

In December, a judge agreed to suspend the deportation order and reopen her case. An initial hearing is scheduled Wednesday in U.S. Immigration Court in Boston.

Obama has said repeatedly that he didn't know his aunt was living in the United States illegally and believes that laws covering the situation should be followed. If she wins asylum, he could look soft on immigration enforcement. If she loses, he could face criticism from immigrant advocacy groups.

The White House says Obama is staying out of it. >>> By Denise Lavoie | Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Obama's Aunt Has Immigration Hearing in April
ASSOCIATED PRESS: WASHINGTON — The Bush administration quietly withdrew in the weeks after Barack Obama's election a new rule requiring high-level approval before federal agents nationwide could arrest fugitive immigrants. The future for Obama's aunt, who had been living in the country illegally, will be determined at an immigration court hearing in April.

The Homeland Security Department had originally imposed the unusual directive days before Obama's election, an order that would have affected Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father. She had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya.

The directive from Immigration and Customs Enforcement expressed concerns about "negative media or congressional interest," according to a newly disclosed federal document obtained by The Associated Press. The department lifted the immigration order weeks later, on Nov. 26.

The directive made clear that U.S. officials worried about possible election implications of arresting Onyango, who at the time was living in public housing in Boston. She is now believed to be living in Cleveland.

An immigration judge stayed her deportation order on Dec. 17. The judge reopened her case requesting asylum on Dec. 30, and she has a hearing on April 1 in a Boston immigration court, Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Executive Office of Immigration Review, said Monday.

Onyango traveled to Washington last week for her nephew's inauguration. News organizations observed her attending an inaugural ball with her immigration lawyer, Margaret Wong. >>> By Ted Bridis and Eileen Sullivan | Tuesday, January 27, 2009

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Obama's Aunt to Fight to Stay in US
ASSOCIATED PRESS: BOSTON — President-elect Obama's aunt intends to fight a deportation order and hopes to remain in the United States, her immigration lawyer said Friday.

The Associated Press found that Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), 56, is staying with relatives in Cleveland after fleeing her public housing apartment in Boston. She had been living there five years.

Onyango, who is Obama's father's half-sister, was ordered to leave the country in 2004 by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya.

Cleveland attorney Margaret Wong told the AP on Friday she is exploring legal options and may file a motion to reopen Onyango's case or file an appeal for her to stay on humanitarian grounds. She would not discuss Onyango's reasons for seeking asylum in the United States.

"She will do whatever she can do to fight for the privilege to stay in America," she said.

Obama's campaign said previously he did not know about his aunt's status but believes she should obey the law. The campaign said it was returning $260 that Onyango had contributed in small increments to Obama's presidential bid over several months.

Wong, a prominent immigration attorney and frequent political contributor to candidates of both parties, said Onyango believes someone leaked information about her immigration status to try to hurt Obama's candidacy.

"She's upset that people could just hurt her like that ... use her to try to hurt Barack," Wong said.

"She had never asked Barack for help. She just doesn't want to hurt him," she said. >>> By Denise Lavoie | November 7, 2008

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Obama Has Aunt Living in US Illegally
ONE NEWS NOW: WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been 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. >>> Eileen Sullivan and Elliot Spagat - Associated Press Writers | November1, 2008

NZZ Online: «Auntie Zeituni» bleibt unauffindbar: Illegal anwesende Tante bringt Obama in Verlegenheit

Eine offenbar illegal in Boston lebende Tante bringt den amerikanischen Präsidentschaftsbewerber kurz vor dem Wahltag in Verlegenheit. Das Wahlkampfteam des Demokraten erklärte, Obama wisse nichts über ihren Aufenthaltsstatus.

Natürlich sei der Senator dafür, dass allen einschlägigen Gesetzen Folge geleistet werde, wurde weiter mitgeteilt.
Eine aus Kenia stammende Tante lebt nach Informationen der Nachrichtenagentur Associated Press seit Jahren illegal in den USA. Trotz eines 2004 abgelehnten Asylantrags sei Zeituni Onyango im Land geblieben, teilten Gewährsleute mit.

Die 56-Jährige, die Obama in seiner Autobiografie «Auntie Zeituni» nennt, soll in einer Sozialwohnung in Boston im US-Staat Massachusetts leben. Onyangos Weigerung, das Land zu verlassen, wäre ein Verstoss gegen das Einwanderungsgesetz. Derartige Vergehen werden aber für gewöhnlich nicht strafrechtlich verfolgt. Nach Schätzungen leben mehr als zehn Millionen solcher Immigranten ohne Erlaubnis in den Vereinigten Staaten. >>> ap | 1. November 2008

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