The Immigration Battle Hits Home with Obama’s Aunt

For most immigrants facing possible deportation, life is about paperwork, waiting, hoping and perhaps even praying. For Zeituni Onyango, the aunt of President Barack Obama, it may have just been about waiting long enough for her nephew to be elected president of the United States. Not that we’re suggesting that Onyango is asking for any favors, of course, but her story has become much more interesting after Obama was elected. Originally making a bid for asylum over four years ago after arriving in the U.S. from Kenya, Onyango lost that fight and was ordered to be deported. Instead, she remained and lived in public housing all the while.

Now, however, she has a legitimate (and some would say too convenient) reason for not going back to Kenya. Said Boston immigration attorney Ilana Greenstein, "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." For his part, Obama has repeatedly claimed that he was unaware that his aunt was in the country illegally and has often stated that all laws should be followed strictly in dealing with his aunt.

Spokesman Ben LaBolt noted, "The President believes that the case should run its ordinary course, and neither he nor his representatives have had an involvement." Others have not bee so kind. Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, has said, "The president’s moral authority has been compromised by his aunt’s situation. Americans have the right to expect aliens to respect our law, to leave when they are supposed to and not thumb their noses at the legal system."