Immigration Law
Obama’s Aunt Gets 10 More Months to Prepare Deportation Fight
Posted Apr 2, 2009, 05:08 am CST
By Molly McDonough
Zeituni Onyango praised God as she left a closed hearing Wednesday in Boston during which an immigration judge gave her until Feb. 4, 2010, to prepare yet another argument against deportation.
Onyango, whose immigration case is drawing international interest because she is Barack Obama's aunt, has twice been ordered to leave the United States and return to her native Kenya.
The Washington Post reports that Onyango is among more than 13,000 immigrants a year who seek to have their cases reopened. Backlogs in Boston make the 10-month delay appear routine, if not speedy, according to the Post.
Onyango is one of more than 13,000 immigrants a year who seek to have their cases reopened, which can occur repeatedly, according to federal immigration officials. The extensive backlog in Boston's immigration court makes her 10-month delay routine, if not shorter than many others, according to immigration lawyers.
Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, first sought political asylum in 2002, claiming violence in Kenya as her reason. She was last ordered deported in 2004. Her latest strategy hasn't been made public.
Also See:
ABAJournal.com: "Immigration Courts Swamped With Cases Taking 2-10 Years to Reach Disposition"
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