Report: Obama unaware aunt living illegally in US
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Sun, 02 Nov 2008 04:21:24 GMT |
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Washington - The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he wasn't aware that his Kenyan aunt was reportedly living in the US illegally, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The news about Zeituni Onyango, who is referred to as aunty Zeituni in Obama's memoir, surfaced just as the presidential candidates start counting down hours, not days, to Tuesday's election. Some Democrats have alluded to the fact that the timing of the disclosure seems politically motivated, as it was apparently leaked to a media outlet by a government official. Obama's Republican rival John McCain did not raise the issue on the campaign trail Saturday. Obama's campaign said the Illinois senator had no knowledge of her immigration status and that "any and all appropriate laws" should be followed, the report said. "They have talked from time to time. She's been in and out of his life. He didn't even know she was in the country," Obama's spokesman Bill Burton told broadcaster MSNBC. Onyango, 56, is Obama's father's half-sister. The senator, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, first met his aunt when he travelled to Africa as an adult. She had apparently applied for political asylum in 2004. Her request was rejected by a federal immigration judge and she was told to leave the country, a government official told the Post. She attended his swearing-in ceremony as US senator in January 2005, but his campaign said he didn't aid in her visa or stay. Spokesman Burton said Obama had invited her to the US about nine years back to meet the family. Obama last heard from her in 2006, when she said she was in Boston, the campaign said. "People are suspicious about stories that surface in the last 72 hours of a national campaign, and I think they are going to put it in that context," said Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod. According to Federal Election Commission records, one Zeituni Onyango from South Boston is listed as making contributions worth 265 dollars to the Obama campaign, the Post reported. The campaign said the money would be refunded. It is illegal for foreign citizens or immigrants without green cards to make political donations.
Copyright DPA
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Cultural Perspective
By:
Purl Gurl ,
Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:45:43 GMT
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All this business about Obama’s aunt is sad. I have compassion for the old gal. She is now suffering humiliation and the blistering light of our mainstream media. This is wrongful.
Yes, she should have worked on becoming a legal immigrant, but this is difficult. She probably could have become an American citizen had she worked hard at this. I do not know much about our immigration laws, doubtful many of you readers know much about this topic. Correct my thinking on this if I am wrong. I invite this.
My understanding is this old gal could become a citizen if she has a sponsor. This is, if an American or an American family document they will take her in, take care of her and take all those steps needed to find her employment, income, a place to live, all that, under circumstances like this, I “think” she could become an American citizen.
I do not know for sure. Again, I am very ignorant of immigration laws. Maybe a reader can clarify and add to this issue.
There is a cultural perspective worthy of mention. Our traditional peoples, we American Indians, are well known for taking in others in need, those of our bloodline. Not all of us do, but a majority of us do. This is especially true up in the Lakotas where our peoples are the most impoverished peoples of our nation. Not uncommon at all for ten, twenty or more people to be living under one roof. Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, other tribes in the Lakota region, are well known for taking in those in need, no matter how distant the blood relationship.
This prompts me to wonder why Obama has not offered to take in his aunt, has not offered to sponsor her or employ some other method of helping her earn citizenship. I am sure there is something Obama can do, some law, some loophole, something he can do to help her.
Why has Obama not taken steps to help his aunt? He has certainly enjoyed plenty of time. Heck, years back he could have secretly whisked her away, made arrangements for her care. I tend to think not many would criticize Obama for an act of compassion, especially with her being old and at a disadvantage in our country. I do not know, maybe he would be critiqued. Personally, I would not fault Obama for helping his aunt in need; I would turn a blind eye.
Suppose this a cultural difference. Our peoples, if a distant relative, would have taken her in, right off. Not only taken her in, we would have also hidden her from authorities.
I suppose Obama is not willing to take a risk in the name of family compassion. Appears Obama is calling for his aunt to be deported back to Kenya. Odds are high, she will die back in Kenya.
I suppose her life is not as important as the presidency, to Obama.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
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