Obama’s uncle faces deportation to Kenya

Onyango Obama, 67, was arrested last week in Framingham, about 20 miles west of Boston, Massachusetts.

Police said that after being arrested, Obama was asked whether he wanted to make a telephone call to arrange for bail.

“I think I will call the White House,” he stated, according to a police report filed in Framingham District Court.

Police said Obama, originally from Kenya and the half-brother of the president’s late father, pleaded not guilty on Friday and was being held without bail by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a court document, ICE said he had an earlier deportation or removal order.

His immigration status has not been confirmed, but such orders are generally reserved for people living in the country illegally.

A spokesman for ICE declined to comment on Obama’s immigration case, and the White House had no comment.

Onyango Obama was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to yield the right of way.

Michael Rogers, a spokesman for Cleveland immigration lawyer Margaret Wong, said Ms Wong would represent Obama. He confirmed Obama was the half-brother of the president’s father and the brother of another relative, the president’s aunt Zeituni Onyango, of Boston.

Framingham police officer Val Krishtal said in a written report that Obama slurred his speech and became argumentative after he was stopped.

“I explained to him that I narrowly avoided striking his vehicle, and he told me that he did not hear my tyres screeching so I was not being accurate,” Officer Krishtal said in the report.

Officer Krishtal said Obama blew a reading of 0.14 per cent on a blood-alcohol breath test, the legal limit being 0.08 per cent.