President Obama’s accused drunken-driving uncle — who was busted after a near collision with a Framingham cop — has had a valid Social Security number for at least 19 years, despite being an illegal immigrant ordered to be deported back to Kenya, the Herald has learned.Probably wherever his nephew got his Connecticut-issued Social Security number.
The president’s 67-year-old uncle, Obama Onyango, has had a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and Social Security number since at least 1992, said Registry of Motor Vehicles spokesman Michael Verseckes.
Onyango, whose sister, Zeituni Onyango, made headlines when it was revealed she was an illegal immigrant living in public housing in South Boston, was wobbly legged, “slurring” and had “red and glassy eyes” when he was pulled over at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Waverly Street in Framingham.
A marked cruiser pulled him over just past the Chicken Bone saloon, about a mile from Onyango’s single-family home. Onyango, the half-brother of the president’s father identified in some press accounts as “Uncle Omar,” initially denied drinking but admitted having “two beers” after police said they smelled booze on his breath, according to a police report.
“It was clear that he was moderately unsteady on his feet,” Framingham Officer Val Krishtal wrote.
Onyango’s white Mitsubishi SUV was pulled over after the vehicle made a sudden right turn in front of a cruiser at a stop sign, causing Krishtal to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. Onyango blew a .14 on the Breathalyzer and continually interrupted the officer, the report states.
“(Onyango) spoke English well, albeit with a moderate accent. I detected what I believed to be some slurring as he spoke,” Krishtal wrote.
Onyango was ordered held without bail on a federal immigration warrant after his arraignment Thursday in Framingham District Court. Court papers show he was the subject of a previous deportation order. He was being held in the Plymouth House of Correction last night.
Mike Rogers, a spokesman for Cleveland immigration attorney Margaret Wong, who is representing Onyango, said he “wouldn’t know how” Onyango obtained a Social Security number.
Meanwhile, back at Chez Onyango, neighbors says what a great guy he is.
No one in the Onyango household was interested in talking about it yesterday. But neighbors were stunned to learn the president’s uncle was living among them, in their working-class neighborhood.
Jennifer Jimenez, 26, affectionately referred to him as the “old guy” while growing up.
“He’s just a normal guy. He’s always saying hi to us. He’s very nice,” Jimenez said. “He’s like the big guy of the house. He takes care of everybody.”
Longtime resident Roger Small said, “He’s cordial, neighborly. You see a lot of the neighborhood kids in their back yard.”
Yesterday, SUVs lined the driveway of Onyango’s home. A young man mowed the lawn, and a girl on the porch was staring intently at her laptop.
To think, this humble Framingham household is just one degree of separation from the White House. It looked exactly like a little slice of the American Dream . . . except for Onyango, it is illegal.
Looks like being illegal alien and from Kenya runs in the family, eh Barry.
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