Obama Aunt Can Stay In The U.S.

President Barack Obama’s Kenyan aunt, Zeituni Onyango, has been granted asylum to stay in the United States. Pop the hood.

Onyango, whom Obama refers to as “Auntie Zeituni” first requested asylum in 2004. Her illegal status came to light during the 2008 election. The Huffington Post reports:

A U.S. immigration court has granted asylum to President Barack Obama’s African aunt, allowing her to stay in the country, her attorneys announced Monday.

The decision was mailed Friday and comes three months after Kenya native Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama’s late father, testified at a closed hearing in Boston, where she arrived in a wheelchair and two doctors testified in support of her case.

Onyango plans to apply for a work visa and can apply for a green card after she gets it, her attorneys said.

The basis for her asylum request was never made public. People who seek asylum must show that they face persecution in their homeland on the basis of religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.

For more on the story, go to HuffPo.