An immigration reform activist says the recent decision by an immigration judge to allow President Obama's aunt, who is in the country illegally, to extend her stay in the U.S. is symptomatic of the problem with immigration enforcement in America.
Obama's Kenyan aunt, Zietuni Onyango, was ordered deported five years ago, but refused to leave the country. She remained in public housing in Boston and under the radar until the issue of her immigration status flared up three days before Obama was elected president. Her deportation order was suspended in December when a motion to reopen the case was granted. Last week a judge ruled that she could stay in the U.S. legally until next year when she makes a new asylum bid. She originally applied for asylum in 2002 due to violence in Kenya, but was turned down in 2004 and ordered to leave the country. (See earlier story) Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform says the case illustrates how easy it is to thwart deportation orders. "She still refuses to leave the country, and the system allows her endless bites on the apple," Mehlman laments, "and it's not just because she happens to be the president's aunt. It is because the system is rigged in a way that favors people who are trying to take advantage of the situation and not comply with our laws." Mehlman says being Obama's aunt may or may not help Onyango win permanent residency. "There might be an inclination to try to demonstrate that she is not receiving any special treatment," he suggests. But Mehlman says with or without the aunt's case, there is an ideological commitment by the Obama administration not to enforce U.S. immigration laws. He believes if the administration cannot get an amnesty through Congress, it will "create a de facto amnesty by simply not enforcing our laws."
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