Obama Unaware of Status of Aunt, Campaign Says

WASHINGTON — Responding to a report that a Kenyan relative of Senator Barack Obama was living in the United States illegally, his campaign said Saturday that he had no knowledge of her immigration status and that “any and all appropriate laws” should be followed.

The woman, Zeituni Onyango, referred to as Auntie Zeituni in a passage in Mr. Obama’s memoir, applied for political asylum in the United States in 2004, but a federal immigration judge rejected her request and instructed her to leave the country, said a government official with knowledge of the case who asked not to be identified because of its delicate nature. Ms. Onyango’s legal status was first reported by The Associated Press on Friday.

The disclosure came as the presidential campaign hurtled toward Election Day, and it left Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, answering questions about what he knew of Ms. Onyango’s situation.

Some Democrats suggested that the timing of the disclosure could have been politically motivated, and some immigration lawyers said that for government officials to disclose information about an asylum applicant was unethical or perhaps illegal.

“People are suspicious about stories that surface in the last 72 hours of a national campaign, and I think they’re going to put it in that context,” Mr. Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, told reporters on Saturday.

Senator John McCain’s campaign declined to comment, and neither Mr. McCain, the Republican nominee, nor his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, raised the issue on the campaign trail.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, Kelly A. Nantel, said the agency’s inspector general and office of professional responsibility were looking into whether there was a violation of confidentiality policy.

Ms. Onyango, 56, is the half-sister of Mr. Obama’s father and is part of an extensive network of paternal relatives with whom Mr. Obama has had limited contact, his aides said. Mr. Obama, who was largely raised by his maternal grandparents in Honolulu, first met Ms. Onyango when he traveled to Africa as an adult.

Mr. Axelrod said that Mr. Obama and Ms. Onyango did not have “a real close relationship.”

Ms. Onyango attended the ceremony in January 2005 when Mr. Obama was sworn in as a senator from Illinois, but campaign officials said he had provided no assistance in getting her a tourist visa and did not know the details of her stay. At the time of the ceremony, Ms. Onyango and another relative said in interviews that they had flown to the United States from Kenya to witness the event.

Mr. Obama last heard from Ms. Onyango about two years ago when she called to say she was in Boston, but he did not see her there, the campaign said.

Federal Election Commission records list a Zeituni Onyango in South Boston as making a series of contributions, totaling $265, to the Obama campaign, with the most recent contribution, $5, made on Sept. 19.

Mr. Obama’s campaign said the money was being refunded. It is illegal for foreign citizens and immigrants without green cards to make political donations. Aides said that the donations came through the normal channels and that no one at the campaign knew of Ms. Onyango’s immigration status or that she was related to Mr. Obama.

The Times of London reported on Thursday that Ms. Onyango lived in public housing in Boston. On Friday, The A.P. reported that she was in the country illegally and that her case had led to an unusual nationwide directive from Immigration and Customs Enforcement requiring that any deportations before the election on Tuesday be approved at least at the level of regional directors.

Ms. Nantel, the agency spokeswoman, said she could not comment on the matter. A White House spokesman, Scott StanzelScott Stanzel, said the White House had no involvement in the matter.

Ms. Onyango lives in an apartment that is handicapped accessible and volunteered as a resident health advocate for the Boston Housing Authority before stopping recently because of back surgery that required physical therapy, said William McGonagle, the authority’s deputy director.

On Saturday, a police officer was stationed outside the low, brick public housing complex where Ms. Onyango lives. The officer said she was not at home and told reporters not to enter the building.

Gardiner Harris reported from Washington, and Abby Goodnough from Boston. Reporting was contributed by Eric Lipton from Washington; Michael Luo from New York; Julia Preston from Tennessee; Jeff Zeleny from Henderson, Nev.; and Katie Zezima from Boston.