Obama’s illegal immigrant uncle arrested for DUI in Massachusetts

According to Framingham, Massachusetts police, President Obama’s uncle, Onyango Obama, 67, was arrested for DUI last week. Reports from Massachusetts indicate that the President’s uncle is a Kenyan citizen illegally in the U.S. who is subject to an outstanding deportation order. At the time of his arrest he was reportedly in possession of a driver’s license and social security card, which may have been fraudulently obtained.

Onyango Obama is the half-brother of the President’s deceased father. He pled not guilty to the charges brought against him and is being held without bail on a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When offered the opportunity to make a phone call, he said, “I think I’ll call the White House,” according to the police report.

Earlier this month the Obama administration announced a new, more generous policy towards the millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S., according to which they will not be deported and can apply for authorization to work in the U.S. as long as they have not been convicted of any “serious” crime, and do not threaten national security. Coincidence?

Onyango Obama is not the first illegal immigrant among President Obama’s relatives. The President’s aunt, Zeituni Onyango, now 59, sister of Onyango Obama, was revealed in 2008 to be living in public housing in Boston despite being an illegal immigrant subject to an outstanding deportation order. Her previous request for political asylum was denied, but a subsequent request was granted in 2010, on the basis that her relationship to President Obama threatened her security in Kenya. She continues to live in Boston public housing, and now receives monthly disability checks.

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No one should be held responsible, solely because of a family connection, for the misdeeds of relatives. The incidents of illegal immigration of President Obama’s relatives to the U.S. simply illustrate and reinforce the administration’s message to would-be illegal immigrants all over the world: Come on in!

Do the American people support the policy of no deportations of illegal immigrants unless they are convicted of serious crimes or threaten national security? If so, we should repeal most of our immigration laws and put out the welcome mat for everyone in the entire world to come to the U.S. in search of a better life.

The 2012 election could be a referendum on whether to have and enforce numerical limits on legal immigration to the U.S. or not. For that to happen, there should be a presidential candidate who pledges to vigorously enforce U.S. immigration law against all violators. But so far, there isn’t.

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