By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — After a protracted legal battle, President Barack Obama’s Kenyan aunt has been granted asylum, the Associated Press reported.
A U.S. Immigration judge in Boston mailed the decision on Friday, AP reported. The aunt, Zeituni Onyango, is the half sister of Obama’s later father. A person must prove that they will be persecuted if they return to their homeland.
AP reported that the reason for her request was never made public. But her lawyer had previously said she applied for asylum because of the violence in that country.
She first moved to the U.S. in 2000 on a valid visa, and was ordered deported in 2004 after he request for asylum was rejected. But she remained in the country and was living in public housing in Boston. The New York Times reported that she first sought asylum in 2002.
The legal battle became fodder for anti-Obama forces.
