Obama's aunt back in Boston for court
Monday, May 04, 2009

Whatever happened to President Barack Obama's aunt, who was quietly in Cleveland while defying a deportation order?

Zeituni Onyango said goodbye to her Cleveland cousins and went back to Boston, where she has been winning court battles that could allow her to stay in America. She is being represented by Cleveland lawyer Margaret Wong.

"We won two of the three most critical steps," including a motion to have the deportation case reopened, Wong said. "We're back in court. We're trying to get her permission to stay in America permanently."

Wong has been arguing that life for Onyango -- the half-sister of the president's father -- has changed drastically in recent months, making her a good candidate for asylum. She is no longer an average citizen of Kenya and would face undue attention and maybe danger if she returned.

Onyango arrived on a valid visa in 2000 and later applied for political asylum. Asylum seekers must show they face persecution at home. Her request was rejected, and in 2004 she was ordered to leave the country.

She became a media sensation when, just days before the presidential election, the Times of London reported that Barack Obama's aunt was an illegal immigrant living in public housing in Boston. She was soon identified as "Aunt Zeituni" from Obama's memoir, "Dreams from My Father."

Many in Boston denounced her for defying deportation and for living in a public-housing complex with a waiting list.

The president has said he did not know his aunt was here illegally and that all laws covering her situation should be followed.

Onyango, 56, escaped the attention by taking a train to Cleveland. She moved in with relatives in the city's African immigrant community. One day in early November, she walked into Wong's office and asked for a lawyer.

"She's a very nice and sweet woman," said Wong, who escorted her client to inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., and won her a stay-of-deportation order.

On April 2 in Boston, an immigration judge said Onyango can remain in the country at least until early next year, when she can again make a bid for asylum.

Wong declined to discuss her legal strategy. According to the Boston Globe, Onyango is back in her subsidized apartment in South Boston.


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