Judge in Boston cited media leak in ruling granting asylum to Obama’s African aunt
By Denise Lavoie, APTuesday, August 17, 2010
Boston judge blasts leak in Obama aunt asylum case
BOSTON — A judge in Boston who granted asylum to President Barack Obama’s African aunt ruled she deserved to stay in the United States because a federal government official leaked her status to a news organization.
U.S. Immigration Judge Leonard Shapiro granted asylum to Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUH’-nee awn-YAHN’-goh) in May. His written decision was released this week through the Freedom of Information Act and first was reported by The Boston Globe.
The judge found a federal government official disclosed Onyango’s immigration status and her relationship to Obama to The Associated Press three days before the 2008 presidential election. He said the disclosure could make her a target if she were sent back to her native Kenya.
The 58-year-old Onyango lives in public housing in Boston. She’s the half sister of Obama’s late father.
