The Americans for Legal Immigration PAC Files Arrest Request for President Obama’s Aunt, Zeituni Onyango, to be Deported

Why is President Barack Obama’s aunt, Zeituni Onyango, an illegal immigrant still here? Well, the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC has filed an arrest request with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has issued a public demand for President Obama to deport her. According to ALI-PAC, she is currently under a court’s order to leave the country or be deported.

Girlfriend is moving from state to state. She is currently living in Ohio and has vowed to fight against being deported. Four years ago, an immigration judge instructed her to leave the country after her request for asylum from her native Kenya was rejected.

“President Obama has promised the American public that his administration will honor the principles of open government, the Constitution and the Rule of Law,” said William Gheen of ALIPAC. “Obama must either deport his aunt or destroy his own credibility by showing her favoritism.” Source: Boston Channel

You will recall that last year, Onyango was found living in Boston. Obama said then that he didn’t know that one of his relatives was living in the city illegally and believes the appropriate laws should be followed. So, now that we are all on the same wavelength, why is she still here? Did her status change or is she deliberately defying the court? To be honest, nobody would be complaining about her if she was not related to President Obama. Her immigration status would continue to fly under the radar. So, since she is his relative and her situation is common knowledge to all, she needs to go back to Africa and not become an issue for him. The last thing we need is some family drama for the President coming from someone he barely knows.

Filed under: Fairness, Illegal Immigration, President Barack H. Obama, Zeituni Onyango

Brooklyn Minister Chibueze Okorie Denied the Right to Stay in the U.S., Former Bush Clemency Lawyer Roger Adams Made Racial Slur

According to the NY Daily News, the feds have refused to let Brooklyn minister Chibueze Okorie, 47, stay in the U.S. even though the Bush administration’s top clemency lawyer got bounced for making an ethnic slur about the application.

The Daily News states that Okorie had hoped his nearly 20 years of good works as a lay minister for the Church of Gethsemane in Park Slope would count against his 1989 drug arrest. The problem is that the Nigerian immigrant served 18 months for acting as a driver for an East New York heroin ring. He then turned his life around to become a lay Presbyterian minister and helped save dozens of other ex-cons from a life of crime.

It seems that his plea for a presidential pardon, which would enable him to get a green card and become a U.S. citizen, had won support from a variety of elected officials, including Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Daily News reported in July that former U.S. Pardon Attorney Roger Adams recommended President Bush reject Okorie’s pardon request. Yes, but he had to make a racist comment. He reportedly said: “This might sound racist but [the applicant] is about as honest as you could expect for a Nigerian. Unfortunately, that’s not very honest.” Not all Nigerians are dishonest and it is clearly wrong to judge this man on that basis.

The Justice Department’s inspector general exposed Adams’ comments last December. He was fired after the inspector general found Adams “appeared to have improperly considered one applicant’s Nigerian origin when deciding not to recommend clemency for that applicant.”

According to the Daily News, pardon office staff then pulled back Okorie’s application, for more review, but he was recently notified that his application was denied on Aug. 28. The notifications did not say why he was denied. His lawyer is trying to get an answer from pardon officials.

An immigration hearing is set for Dec. 28, and Okorie fears he will be deported.”I call America my country. I have been working, making a contribution to the society,” Okorie said Thursday. “It is very difficult right now.”

I am also an immigrant, but I came here legally and I became naturalized many eons ago. The problem for this man is that you cannot break the law and expect to be allowed to stay. I know that he had changed his life and has done a lot of good in his community. He has been here for 20 years and I guess that should account for something. I am against illegal immigration and how he managed to stay under the radar is amazing. As a Christian, I believe that God already made a way for him, but that way might be in Nigeria, where I know he can do a lot of good as well. Funny, President Clinton could pardon a wealthy criminal Marc Rich and I suspect that President Bush may pardon some “choice” people as well. It seems a little unfair that nobody gave this man the time of day.

The article did not say whether or not he had a family or not. I always thought the American government’s desire is not to break families up. On that basis he should be allowed to stay and to live within strict guidelines, which should not lead to citizenship.

Filed under: Chibueze Okorie, Church of Gethsemane, Hillary Clinton, Illegal Immigration

Comatose Francisco Pantaleon, Undocumented Mexican Immigrant, Set to Be Deported

I am deadset against illegal immigration, but I must admit that I feel a sense of shame over the plight of Francisco Pantaleon, who has been in a coma, and set to be deported back to Mexico. He is currently at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago. His plight has ignited a dispute over a little-known practice at hospitals—sending medically needy undocumented immigrants back to their countries of origin.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the disagreement revolves around Pantaleon, who arrived in the U.S. 11 years ago and suffered a severe brain hemorrhage in mid-July. A father of two, Pantaleon worked at a carwash and has no health insurance, his sister Socorro said.

The medical center believes there is “little hope for recovery,” according to a statement released Tuesday, and officials arranged for Pantaleon to be transferred to a hospital in Acapulco at UIC’s expense. An official said his immediate family consented to the move.

But Pantaleon’s sister and cousin are protesting that arrangement and have retained lawyers in hopes of preventing it. “This is an injustice,” said his sister, who worries that Pantaleon won’t survive the trip or find adequate care in Mexico.

To be bluntly honest, this dispute touches on two hot-button issues, Immigration and health care. With the exception of pregnant women some children and people in medical emergencies, illegal immigrants generally have no right to health care in the U.S. But access to long-term care—the kind of services Pantaleon appears to need—is not guaranteed even if the patients are U.S. citizens, with the exception of the very poor.

Legally, hospitals are bound to stabilize all patients in an emergency, regardless of their nationality or insurance status. Afterward they are required to arrange to transfer patients to settings where they can receive adequate care, said Doreena Wong, staff attorney for the National Health Law Program. The difficulty is, nursing homes in Chicago usually will not serve undocumented immigrants who don’t have health insurance or any means to pay for care.”We can’t arrange long-term care here, so we try to do the best we can in the country of origin,” said Dr. William Chamberlin, chief medical officer at UIC Medical Center.

Members of Pantaleon’s family appealed to the Mexican Consulate for help last week, said Ioana Navarrete, consul for the protection department.”There were certain legal procedures that the hospital should have followed that they bypassed,” she said, noting that the medical center failed to inform the consulate of plans to move Pantaleon, a Mexican citizen.

I feel for this man, but where do we draw the line with illegal immigration and its implications. I pray that they find a suitable solution for Mr. Pantaleon. If he is sent back to Mexico, then I hope he will be placed in one of the best hospitals there. I am sure the government can work that out. If he is allowed to remain here, then we are setting a precedent that some may find dangerous. The problem is that there are millions of Americans who cannot get proper health care because they have no health insurance and are poor. Shouldn’t we be taking care of our own people first? I can see the position that we have a moral obligation to Mr. Pantaleon, but don’t we owe all Americans the same moral consideration? You be the judge…..

Filed under: Francisco Pantaleon, Illegal Immigration, Mexico