BOSTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's aunt will be allowed to remain in the United States until at least next year as she awaits a chance to make her case before an immigration judge in her bid for asylum from her native Kenya.

A judge on Wednesday scheduled a hearing for Feb. 4, 2010 date to hear Zeituni Onyango's (zay-TUH'-nee awn-YAHN'-goh) case.

Onyango did not speak after her initial appearance in U.S. Immigration Court in Boston. The hearing was closed to the media at the request of her attorney.

She wore a curly red wig and said nothing as she was led away from court under federal protection.

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.

Obama has said that he didn't know his aunt was living in the United States illegally and believes that laws covering the situation should be followed

People who seek asylum must show that they face persecution in their homeland on the basis of religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group. Kenya has been fractured by violence in recent years, but J. Patrick Kelly, an international law professor at Widener University, said the United States views Kenya as fairly stable.

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 has not responded to interview requests.

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