Thread: Obama aunt testifies at her 2nd asylum hearing (now May 25)

Obama aunt testifies at her 2nd asylum hearing

By DENISE LAVOIE, AP Legal Affairs Writer
Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:23 a.m.

BOSTON — President Barack Obama's African aunt testified on her own behalf at a closed hearing Thursday in U.S. Immigration Court, making another bid for asylum because of what her lawyer said includes medical reasons.

Kenya native Zeituni Onyango took the stand for about 2 1/2 hours, said Amy Cohn, a spokeswoman for attorney Margaret Wong. Two doctors also will testify at the hearing, expected to end in mid-afternoon.

"The doctors are here in reference to her medical conditions, but that's not the only aspect of the case," Cohn said.

The 57-year-old Onyango arrived in a wheelchair Thursday, a cane across her lap. In an interview in November with The Associated Press, she said she is disabled and learning to walk again after being paralyzed from Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder.

It was not clear when Judge Leonard Shapiro would rule. Lauren Alder Reid, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, said the judge could issue a decision Thursday after the hearing, could continue the hearing and hear additional testimony on another date, or could issue a decision later.

Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, moved to the United States in 2000. Her first asylum request was rejected, and she was ordered deported in 2004. But she didn't leave the country and continued to live in public housing in Boston.

Her status as an illegal immigrant was revealed just days before Obama was elected in November 2008. Obama has said he didn't know his aunt was living in the country illegally and immigration law should be followed.

In November, Onyango said she never asked Obama to intervene in her case and didn't tell him about her immigration difficulties.

"He has nothing to do with my problem," she told the AP.

In his memoir, "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," Obama affectionately referred to Onyango as "Auntie Zeituni" and described meeting her during his 1988 trip to Kenya.

Onyango helped care for the president's half brothers and sister while living with Barack Obama Sr. in Kenya.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... m-hearing/

Obama’s auntie still freeloading

By Michael Graham
Thursday, February 4, 2010 - Updated 2h ago

Michael Graham hosts a talk show on 96.9 WTKK.

Here’s another Obama sweetheart deal you won’t see on C-SPAN.

This morning, the fate of Boston’s most infamous illegal immigrant, Zeituni Polly Onyango (also known as “Aunt Zeituniâ€

Because she is Obama's aunt she will be allowed to stay. And immigration lawyers will be using her case to stop other illegal aliens from being deported.

You can post a comment at this USA TODAY link:

Obama aunt testifies at her second asylum hearing

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/201 ... ring_N.htm

No asylum ruling for Obama’s aunt

. . . It was not clear when Judge Leonard Shapiro will rule. Attorneys have 30 days to file written closing briefs. The hearing may be continued on May 25 if there is no decision before then . . .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35234712/ns ... nd_courts/