TAGS: Asylum, Zeituni Onyango, US Immigration Court| Obama's African aunt awaits asylum |
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Allowed to stay in the country, as battle against deportation continues 5th February 2010: US President Barack Obama's African aunt is awaiting asylum ruling, but has been allowed to stay in the country a little longer as her battle against deportation continues. Among other grounds, Kenya native Zeituni Onyango, 57, has cited medical reasons to stay in the US. So far, there is no decision in her matter. Obama hasn't intervened for his aunt. She was found living in a housing project in 2008 after coming to the US in 2000. She was ordered out in 2004 after an asylum request was rejected, but she did not leave. The immigration hearing ended without an immediate decision on asylum. But before the conclusion of the closed proceedings in US Immigration Court, Onyango testified for about two-and-a-half hours after entering court in a wheelchair with a cane across her lap. Two doctors also testified in support of her case. They said she was suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome. The immigration judge has now given the lawyers time until mid-March to file written arguments. |