President Obama's Aunt Seeking Asylum in United States Immigration Hearing
Thursday, February 4 2010
 Barack Obama (file photo)An immigration hearing is being held for U.S. President Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt who is seeking asylum in the United States.
Zeituni Onyango arrived at a federal immigration court in Boston, Massachusetts Thursday to request that she be allowed to remain in the country.
Onyango moved to the United States in 2000. A judge rejected her first request for political asylum and ordered her deportation in 2004. But Onyango never left.
Her lawyer, Margaret Wong, said she would ask the court to block deportation for mainly medical reasons. Two doctors will be called to testify.
Her immigration status became widely publicized just days before the 2008 presidential election, leading to speculation that her case was being politicized to embarrass then-candidate Mr. Obama.
Mr. Obama says he did not know his aunt was living in the country illegally and said that all appropriate laws should be followed.
Onyango is the half-sister of Mr. Obama's late father. The president referred to her as "Aunti Zeituni" in a memoir.
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