No Ruling in Obama Aunt Asylum Hearing

President Barack Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango testified for about two-and-a-half hours during the closed proceedings in U.S. Immigration Court. There are few details about her testimony available, but no ruling was made in her case. "The hearing went well. She was very honest. She was very to the point," her lawyer, Margaret Wong, said afterward.

Wong said Onyango is hopeful the judge will rule in her favor, because "she really wants to stay in America."

Two doctors also testified in support of the case her lawyer said includes medical reasons to stay in the U.S. Wong declined afterward to discuss specifics before a judge's decision.

"This is America. Justice will be done and the truth will come out," Wong said.
The 57-year-old Onyango arrived in a wheelchair Thursday, a cane across her lap. She used the cane to walk to a waiting car afterward. In a November interview with The Associated Press, she said she is disabled and learning to walk again after being paralyzed from Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. Source: Asylum hearing for Obama aunt ends with no ruling, Associated Press

No word on when Judge Leonard Shapiro will rule. The Attorneys have 30 days to file written closing briefs, and the hearing may be continued on May 25 if there is no decision prior to that date. President Obama continues to stay removed from Onyango's case.

At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the first family is not helping pay Onyango's legal fees and that the president has not spoken to her since he learned of her immigration status just days before the November 2008 elections.

"We would continue to say that everybody in this country should and must follow the law," Gibbs said. "We have not been involved at all in that hearing."

Wong also said the president has not become involved in Onyango's hearing. Asked Thursday if Obama had submitted a letter on behalf of his aunt, the attorney replied "absolutely not. Source: Associated Press

I know Onyango broke the law, but it's still kinda sad that President Obama can't even send a letter in support of a woman who helped to raise his siblings.

What do YOU think?

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