‘Uncle Obama’ wins a driver’s license for working illegally

author Published by Jeremy Beck

An April 3 story in the Boston Herald,  “Uncle Obama on the roads again,” reported that Onyango Obama, the president’s uncle and a Kenyan national who has been living and working illegally in the U.S. since 1963 – even after he was ordered deported in 1992 – “scored his limited [driver’s] license yesterday from the Registry’s Wilmington branch, after convincing a hearing officer that life without wheels would have posed an undue hardship on his livelihood as a liquor-store manager. Obama bolstered his case with a letter from his employer.” As always with the mainstream media, the Boston Herald didn’t note the irony that Onyango Obama was working illegally. The Herald did not remind its readers that it had, in a previous story, described Obama’s employer as being in “total shock” that Obama was working illegally. There was no follow-up quote from Obama’s employer, who has apparently been allowed to keep his illegal hire instead of opening up the job to a U.S. citizen or legal immigrant worker.The mainstream media and the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles apparently share the same high opinion of illegal employment – and disregard for displaced workers. For them, illegal employment is to be celebrated and rewarded – in this case, with a driver’s license. Obama’s hearing officer judged it to be too cruel to deny Obama the ability to drive himself to his illegally-obtained U.S. job. But neither the hearing officer nor the Boston Herald mentioned the unemployed or underemployed worker who has lost his ability to earn a living so that Obama and his employer may profit from their illegal actions.If the Boston Herald was concerned, as it should be, about illegal employment with over 20 million citizens and legal immigrants unable to find full-time work, it could investigate how Obama and his employer are able to manipulate the system, and what should be done to prevent others from doing the same. The trail would ultimately lead them to the Legal Workforce Act, H.R. 2885, which is currently blocked by House Leadership in Congress. Massachusetts is unlikely to pass a mandatory E-Verify bill. Even if it did, it could never pass a law that would expose existing hires like Onyango Obama. Only a national bill like H.R. 2885 can open up the more than 7 million non-farm jobs illegally occupied by foreign nationals to the U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who need them.JEREMY BECK is the Director of the Media Standards Project for NumbersUSA

Take Action

Your voice counts! Let your Member of Congress know where you stand on immigration issues through the Action Board. Not a NumbersUSA member? Sign up here to get started.

Action Board

Donate Today!

NumbersUSA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that relies on your donations to works toward sensible immigration policies. NumbersUSA Education & Research Foundation is recognized by America's Best Charities as one of the top 3% of well-run charities.

Donate

Immigration Grade Cards

NumbersUSA provides the only comprehensive immigration grade cards. See how your member of Congress’ rates and find grades going back to the 104th Congress (1995-97).

Read More