Barack Obama Uncle Wins Deportation Battle, Gets To Stay In The US
President Barack Obama’s uncle will not be deported. Onyango Okech Obama, who has been in the US illegally for decades, won his deportation battle, and he will be allowed to remain in the United States, according to one of his attorneys.
Attorney Margaret Wong said Massachusetts Federal immigration Judge Leonard I. Shapiro agreed to allow President Barack Obama’s uncle, who has been living and working in the US for 50 years, to stay and obtain a green card.
Wong says that the Judge looked at the elder Obama’s long history of employment with a Massachusetts grocery store, his character, his tax records, and his rent payments to make the decision. The judge also noted that Obama is not signed up with any government assistance programs, CNN reports.
The attorney says Shapiro also took into account a federal immigration law that allows people who came to the United States before January 1972 to apply for residency. Barack Obama’s uncle has been living in the country since October of 1963.
In his testimony before the Judge, Onyango Okech Obama stated the President stayed with him for three weeks after Barack Obama was accepted into Harvard Law School.
Wong said she is relieved with the outcome as she has represented the family for quite some time. She described Obama’s uncle as a proud, honorable gentleman who is quiet and very nice, according to CNN.
“He’s so happy to stay here because he loves this country,” Wong added, according to L.A. Times.
During the hearing, Wong asked the 69-year-old Kenyan born man whether he had any relatives in America. Obama said he had a sister, two nieces and a nephew.
Asked to name the nephew, he replied: “Barack Obama. He’s the president of the United States.”
The judge said Obama was a good neighbor and a gentleman, and he paid his taxes. At the end of the hearing, the judge remarked, “Welcome to America.”
Obama’s lawyer commented, “He won it fair and square, not because he had a relationship” with the president, Wong believes Obama’s ties to the president probably brought unwanted attention and delayed the case.
In 2011, the uncle of Barack Obama was arrested for allegedly driving drunk and told police officers, “I think I will call the White House.” Obama says he doesn’t recall saying that.
