un oh November surprise: Obama's half aunt here illagally

[Perky]

AP: Obama Aunt From Kenya Living in US Illegally
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 1, 2008
Filed at 7:30 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly 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.

The AP could not reach Onyango immediately for comment. No one answered the telephone number listed in her name late Friday. It was unclear why her request for asylum was rejected in 2004. The Obama campaign declined to comment late Friday night.

Onyango is not a relative whom Obama has discussed in campaign appearances and, unlike Obama's father and grandmother, is not someone who has been part of the public discussion about his personal life.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kelly Nantel, said the government does not comment on an individual's citizenship status or immigration case.

Onyango's case -- coming to light just days before the presidential election -- led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring any deportations prior to Tuesday's election to be approved at least at the level of ICE regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.

The unusual directive suggests that the Bush administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango's case coming to light so close to the election.

Kenya is in eastern Africa between Somalia and Tanzania. The country has been fractured in violence in recent years, including a period of two months of bloodshed after December 2007 that killed 1,500 people.

The disclosure about Onyango came just one day after Obama's presidential campaign confirmed to the Times of London that Onyango, who has lived quietly in public housing in South Boston for five years, was Obama's half aunt on his father's side.

It was not immediately clear how Onyango might have qualified for public housing with a standing deportation order.

------
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Obama-Aunt.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Vinca]

1. It's not quite Cindy stealing drugs, but anything in a pinch I guess. nt

[mmonk]

2. Too late

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FrenchieCat]

4. We got it over here already.......

as we are trying to minimize the number of threads on this bullshit http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7692110

Perhaps we can invite you there, and maybe you can self delete the dupe.

There is also the same thread running in Breaking news, for your information
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3577325&mesg_id=3577325

So far, we know that ......

She's the daughter of Obama Granfather through his third wife Hussein Onyago is Aunti Zeituni's and Uncle Omar's father.

Auni Zeituni would be the daughter of Auma, whom Obama refers to as his "Grandmother", though Barack Obama's real granddmother on his father's side is Akuma.

BArack Obama is not particularly close to this woman and I believe he has met her once. I don't believe he has ever met Uncle Omar.

[demo dutch]

5. half aunt of his father's side, he probably barely knows the women!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. On the Today Show this AM, this was brought up and it was mentioned that he wrote about her in his

book. The GE Whores are at it again.

[Overseas]

48. Did the TV show mention the illegal disclosure of private records? //nt

[midnight]

6. I don't know all the legal footing taking place here. But this woman

is family to the man who is about to become our next president. I know that some don't understand this, but family should not be seperated. We always seem to make room in this country for athletes who we want on our Olympic teams.

[busymom]

36. If she is here illegaly though,

slap me, but she should be deported.

There are legal channels to go through and giving her special privileges because she is Obama's aunt will create a potential problem for Obama. If Bush found out that one of his relatives was here illegally and then granted her immunity from deportation and legal status, I'd be freakin' out! I think this is exactly why this story came out now and I wonder if they will try to deport her Monday to see what happens. :(

[GoesTo11]

38. Their relationship.

edited:
From the ABCNews article:


"Senator Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws be followed."

Onyango is part of Obama's large paternal family, with many related to him by blood whom he barely knows. Obama first met Onyango when he traveled to Africa as an adult — he referred to her as "Auntie Zeituni" in his memoir.

The campaign said he has seen her a few times since that meeting, beginning with a return trip to Kenya with his wife, Michelle, four years after the first trip. Onyango visited the family in Chicago on a tourist visa at Obama's invitation about nine years ago, the campaign said, stopping to visit friends on the East coast before returning to Kenya.

She attended Obama's swearing-in to the U.S. Senate in 2004, but campaign officials said Obama provided no assistance in getting her a tourist visa and doesn't know the details of her stay. The campaign said he last heard from her about two years ago when she called saying she was in Boston, but he did not see her there.



It's just a meaningless thing.

But it does get to show a black woman living in the projects and living here illegally. Just the image that the racist Republicans want to keep getting out.

[HughMoran]

7. We've already discussed this last night

Thanks for bringing it up again :eyes:

[cali]

9. some people really love posting every scrap of potentially bad news they

can lay their grubby little mitts on.

It's sickening.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Since you misspelled Illegal.....you might as well delete the thread

and go into one of the two links I gave you for the duplicate threads already running.

Perhaps, then you'll see, we ain't going on panic mode on this one.

The election is too important. This ain't no game anymore.

Thanks.

[Ferret Annica]

10. I find Joe McCain's attempt to use police resources to clear up traffic

by calling 911 to be arrogant and problematic.

Ten million people have over stayed their visas, and this is an administrative matter concerning someone just trying to get by in life. I see no big deal or big story in this.

[Hansel]

12. Not only too late, but too stupid.

I think this one has a big ol' backfire target on it. Bush again abusing his position of power in order to kick some poor little old lady out of the country to embarrass Obama. I think this will just remind people what they hate about this administration and how close John McCain really is to this idiot. They only people who are going to care are also fans of Joe the Plumber.

Obama probably doesn't talk about her because he doesn't know her since he barely ever knew his father. If he did, she would be in this country legally, because he would have asked Condi Rice for a favor. She's ga ga over the guy. So really, what does this prove? That he didn't use his influence to get her legal status? Wow, that's horrible.

[No Elephants]

13. There was another thread on this in this forum earlier this a.m. I have no clue if she is here

illegally, but I am pretty sure she is not his aunt. She is a relative of the woman Obama's grandfather married after Obama's blood grandmother left his grandfather (supposedly for being abusive). That wife did help raise Obama's father, but she was not a blood relative. And let's not forget Obama was not raised with these people to begin with.

More significantly, tell me: are you responsible for everything each and every one of your actual relatives do? If not, why should Obama be?

To quote Bill Clinton, "Don't change the subject." And don't let them change the subject.

FOCUS. Volunteer. Vote.

On edit: I apologize. The woman in America may actually be blood relative of his granddad, whose full name is apparently Hussein Onyango Obama. But, the major points still stand. What do her actions have to do with Obama and, anyway, FOCUS.

[ROh70]

15. This just guarantees losses in FL, CO, NV, NM. Latino voters are going to be pissed.

[Lex]

27. LOL. That is just plain stupid.

nt

[Mojorabbit]

43. No it does not. nt

[No Elephants]

14. P.S. Head of AP News = Fournier, who emails Rove with love. FOCUS,.

[Youphemism]

16. "the AP could not establish whether [Bush or McCain] had been involved in its release..."

Full quote:

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.

Naaaahhh. It just happened to come out right before the election. What cynical person would believe the honorable staffs of Bush and McCain would have anything to do with such an underhanded investigation and revelation tactic.

[mpanno]

18. Taken straight from the K K Karl Rove Playbook

What does this matter? McSame has said many times that he wants to grant every illegal alien amnesty. This story will backfire on the repukes bigtime.

[Overseas]

47. Just couldn't establish, eh? Didn't want to hurt your friends, I guess. //nt

[Kalyke]

17. This is a potential problem.

If it wasn't, people here wouldn't be telling you that you're stupid or evil or whatever for posting it.

Now, we all know the Obama campaign has been excellent this election season. Let them handle it.

Obama was not close with this aunt and, since she was working and living in subsidized housing, any reasonable person would assume that she was here legally and; therefore, would not have known to challenge it.

The fault here is with ICE, not with Obama.

[No Elephants]

19. What fault? IF this woman entered the country illegally, she is at fault for her illegal entry, no

one else. And please note the IF. This is AP news, headed by Fournier, a Rove worshipper.

BTW, no. Telling someone a piece of poop is poop does not mean poop is significant. Either something is intrinsically significant or it isn't. What people post later does not alter the nature of the OP. Regardless of whether the OP is gold or poop, that reasoning is groundless.

[Kalyke]

23. And some people have reading comprehension problems.

She was living here - we don't know whether she entered the country legally or illegally. But that point it naught. She later asked for political asylum and was denied. It's ICE's fault for not arresting her and deporting her at that point.

What part of the immigration system do you not understand?

And, telling someone a story is "poop" is a far cry from insulting the OP who posted a story that is, by all accounts, the most emailed story on Yahoo at this point. That is the potential problem. A lie is half way around the world while the Truth is still struggling to get its pants on.

The posters above could have made valid points without calling the OP names. That's just juvenile.

[seaglass]

20. I so do not care about this but am kicking just to annoy the

board nannies on this thread.

Oh, forgot this.:hi:

[FrenchieCat]

21. Yeah....cause this is just a funny game......

LOL! we are just rolling over here. :rofl:
Lookit that power you have!

[seaglass]

22. Lookit the power you don't., though you do try with all your SPAM

and nannying. You need to chill a little.:-)

[FrenchieCat]

24. Thanks for the tip, nanny!

:hi:

[seaglass]

25. Twice n/t

:-)

[seaglass]

26. Thanks for playing.

:-)

[MyUncle]

28. The OP story is in the New York Times. This is "THE SURPRISE"

Now that it appears real, this is a story. She lives in squalor, she is illegal. I don't like my gut feeling on this.

I hope we have a good response other than this is bullshit. Because it is going to be out there.

[Teaser]

29. It's not "in the New York Times"

It's an AP newsfeed. The times, along with any other newspaper, carries the newsfeed on its online edition.

God forgive me for responding to a zombie.

[MyUncle]

33. Teaser, it is the top story on MSNBC. Zombie insult aside,

it is going to be in the NY Times print edition. I don't know why you can't accept that FACT that is is being kicked around. THE FACT is this is a story. THE FACT is the major media outlets are all over this. Go ahead, put your head in the sand, cover your ears, eyes and mouth.

[Teaser]

34. You were wrong and you just admitted it

You've gone from "It's in the Times" to "it will be in the Times".

move your goalposts again. Or just be accurate next time and you won't get smacked down.

[MyUncle]

35. OK. This is not productive. Peace to you.

Keep working hard in your own way. It will help us all.

Aloha.

[seaglass]

39. I wouldn't worry about it. She won't be interviewed before the election

and she is a distant relative (I mean seriously if she wasn't distant wouldn't Obama have stood up for her to help her stay here legally and provide financial support were he could?).

Sure, the media will try to make a big deal about it and the pundits will blah blah blah and then we'll get on with the important stuff, like electing our next President, Senators, Congresspersons etc...

[demokatgurrl]

40. OH STOP! She is NOT his AUNT

she's a distant relative and he did not bring her here!

[iamthebandfanman]

30. and i care why?

atleast she didnt call 911 to complain about the traffic.

[City of Mills]

31. Would this be the aunt that Obama is NOT financially supporting?

This is great news, Obama is clearly not supporting an illegal immigrant, the Republicans must be pretty happy about that, right?

[DainBramaged]

32. Time to hide another concern thread

[rucky]

37. What would happen to her if she returned to kenya?

[vaberella]

49. Possibly many things. She applied for political asylum but didn't get it.

There are many people with valid reasons to apply for political asylum and have been denied to be killed when they go back to their country. It's pretty well documented that there is a bias as to who gets political asylum, majority of Russian Jews asking for political asylum will get it, while Africans and those from South America or I should say Latin America have been denied.

[BlooInBloo]

41. And off and running go wimpy "we're doomed" DUers.

[GoesTo11]

42. Look for attack ad all over on Monday. Choreographed weeks ago.

Bush admin leaks this on Friday. False and inflammatory ads all day Monday with essentially no time to respond. That's the plan.

[ProSense]

44. The official who leaked this story

should face criminal charges for trying to influence an election.

[doc03]

45. Oh and she gave $260 to the Obama campaign

and it's illegal because she is not a citizen. So now Fox will say just how many illegal contributions has Obama received? :scared:

[Overseas]

46. November Surprise is really-- Bush officials' ILLEGAL DISCLOSURE

of confidential immigration department investigative files, as someone mentioned when posting this story earlier.

The real meat to the story is the illegal disclosure, unless the media is trumpeting the story, then the Republican owners' bias comes in and it is about the aunt instead.

[vaberella]

50. Are we surprised?! Seriously?! I just remember Valerie Plame

and all falls into focus.

[mtnsnake]

51. This aint un-oh and it aint no November surprise. It's barely news.

If this is the best they've got there we've got nothing to worry about.

[crazy_vanilla]

52. so what?

how is THIS a big story :shrug: