Zeituni Onyango, the aunt who was once so affectionately described in President Barack Obama's best-selling memoir, "Dreams from My Father," is now just a fond memory. Onyango is heartbroken over the fact that her nephew has disassociated himself with her since news broke last October that she has been living in this country as an illegal alien, according to an Associated Press interview.

Onyango, 57, is the half-sister of Obama's late father, Barack, Sr. Obama first met his aunt 20 years ago, when he traveled to Africa. He referred to Onyango as "Auntie Zeituni" when describing the trip in his memoir, saying she was "a proud woman." Onyango came to the United States in 2000 and two years later applied for asylum. She was rejected. The Kenyan native applied for asylum again in 2004 and was turned down yet again, only this time, she faced deportation but never left. Instead, Onyango has lived as an illegal alien in a South Boston, run-down, federally funded public-housing complex working as a health care volunteer.

When news of Onyango's illegal immigration status surfaced, Obama's camp sent out a press statement to the AP that said, "Senator Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws be followed."

Obama has admitted in published reports to seeing his aunt a few times since their initial meeting. She attended his U.S. Senate swearing-in ceremony in 2004 and visited him thereafter during his post. She also attended Obama's inauguration.

Onyango, who is now disabled by the auto-immune disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome and learning to walk again, is fiercely protective of her nephew and is choosing not to be critical of him. Onyango is only devastated that her immigration status might cause a problem for Obama, who has reportedly not reached out to her throughout this entire ordeal. She tells the AP, "Before, we were family, but right now, there is a lot of politics, and me, I am not interested in any politics at all."

Earlier this year, a federal immigration judge granted Onyango a reprieve allowing her to stay in the country until February of next year, when her political asylum case will be heard.

Will Onyango's relationship with President Obama strengthen her case? Only time will tell...