Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Onyango Obama receives December date for deportation hearing, just one day after the President calls for immigration overhaul

Just one day after President Obama called for a dramatic overhaul of U.S. immigration laws that would create a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants, the President's uncle, Onyango Obama, a Kenyan native and illegal resident of the U.S., received a hearing date, scheduled for December 3, 2013, to determine whether he will be permitted to remain in the country. But, by the time December 3 arrives, the President's immigration overhaul will likely be passed, creating a new path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and Onyango's immigration hearing will no longer be necessary. [Heh, Chalk one up for the Obamas!]

Onyango Obama defied a deportation order issued against him 21 years ago. In 2011, he was arrested on DUI charges. Shortly after his arrest, Onyango was asked whether he wanted to make a telephone call to arrange for bail.

"I think I will call the White House," he replied.

However, he was later detained without bail by Federal immigration officials after they discovered he had defied his deportation order 21 years ago.

But a little more than two weeks after his arrest, he was quietly released from prison.

Federal immigration officials refused to divulge whether he had posted bail, whether they were keeping track of his whereabouts, or whether they were still seeking his deportation........

And, as I noted in an earlier post: "I suppose we'll never know whether Onyango made that call to the White House or not......" Ahem......

In 2010, an immigration court granted asylum to Pres. Obama's Kenyan aunt, Zeituni Onyango, setting her on the path to U.S. citizenship. Zeituni was given a deportation order in '04, but she continued to reside in the U.S. illegally - until, ultimately, she was granted asylum. [Chalk one up for the Obamas!]

In 2005, when Barack Obama was sworn in as a U.S. senator from Illinois, Zeituni Onyango attended his swearing-in ceremony. And she donated $260 to Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign. However, despite the fact that she had been living in the U.S. illegally since 2004, the Prevaricator-in-Chief claimed he was unaware that she had been living in the country illegally. And, the $260 campaign contribution - an insignificant and paltry sum, considering the loads of cash that Obama received from foreign donors - was returned to Ms. Onyango.

In 2008, just days before the Presidential election, the Bush administration issued a directive requiring high level approval before federal agents could arrest fugitive immigrants.

The AP noted at the time that, "The Bush administration had imposed the unusual directive days before the election of Barack Obama, whose aunt was living in the United States illegally."
The unusual directive from Immigration and Customs Enforcement made clear that U.S. officials worried about possible election implications of arresting Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, who at the time was living in public housing in Boston. ..

The directive was lifted at the end of November, after Obama's win, ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.
The AP noted in a separate report:
The Homeland Security Department had imposed an unusual directive days before the 2008 election requiring high-level approval before federal agents nationwide could arrest fugitive immigrants including Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father. The directive from ICE expressed concerns about "negative media or congressional interest," according to a copy of that directive obtained by AP.

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