WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama didn't know his aunt might be living illegally in the United States, as media outlets are reporting, and his campaign will return contributions she made, an aide said Saturday.
The half-sister of Sen. Barack Obama's Kenyan father reportedly lives in this complex in South Boston.
1 of 2 "Sen. Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws [should] be followed," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said.
According to The Associated Press, a court refused four years ago to accept the asylum application of Zeituni Onyango, 56, the half-sister of Obama's Kenyan father. However, she has continued to live in a public housing complex in South Boston, AP reported.
Onyango's refusal to leave the country would be an administrative violation, not a criminal matter.
CNN has not been able to independently verify her immigration status. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the agency "is prohibited from commenting on any individual's status."
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan fired off a letter asking Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to investigate whether someone leaked the information to the media in an effort to damage Obama.
"The AP reports that it 'could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved,' a very disturbing (suggestion) indeed," read the letter from Conyers, who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
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"This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible."
The Department of Homeland Security had no immediate response to the letter.
The Obama campaign did not indicate whether Obama has been in touch with his aunt, whom he describes in his book "Dreams from My Father."
The Boston Housing Authority did not return calls or an e-mail from CNN on Saturday.
No one answered calls Saturday to a phone number listed under Onyango's name.
In his book, Obama writes of meeting his aunt when he visited Kenya as a young man.
"A tall, brown-skinned woman was smiling beside us, and Auma [Obama's half-sister] turned and said, 'Barack, this is Auntie Zeituni. Our father's sister," Obama wrote.
"'Welcome home,' Zeituni said, kissing me on both cheeks."
It is not clear when Onyango arrived in the United States.
She told the London Times that she travels back and forth between the United States and Kenya.
"I have been coming to America ever since 1975. I always come and go," the Times quoted her as saying.
Federal campaign finance records indicate Onyango contributed at least $65 to Obama's campaign in July and September, in $5 and $25 increments. Obama spokesman Burton said the campaign has identified $265 in contributions from Onyango, including those not yet reflected in federal filings, and plans to return the funds.
The gifts would appear to violate federal campaign finance law, which prohibits political donations by non-U.S. citizens.
"The responsibility is the campaign's to ensure the funds they receive are from permissible sources in appropriate amounts," Bob Biersack, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission, told The Times of London.
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The half-sister of Sen. Barack Obama's Kenyan father reportedly lives in this complex in South Boston.
1 of 2 "Sen. Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws [should] be followed," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said.
According to The Associated Press, a court refused four years ago to accept the asylum application of Zeituni Onyango, 56, the half-sister of Obama's Kenyan father. However, she has continued to live in a public housing complex in South Boston, AP reported.
Onyango's refusal to leave the country would be an administrative violation, not a criminal matter.
CNN has not been able to independently verify her immigration status. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the agency "is prohibited from commenting on any individual's status."
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan fired off a letter asking Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to investigate whether someone leaked the information to the media in an effort to damage Obama.
"The AP reports that it 'could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved,' a very disturbing (suggestion) indeed," read the letter from Conyers, who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
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"This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible."
The Department of Homeland Security had no immediate response to the letter.
The Obama campaign did not indicate whether Obama has been in touch with his aunt, whom he describes in his book "Dreams from My Father."
The Boston Housing Authority did not return calls or an e-mail from CNN on Saturday.
No one answered calls Saturday to a phone number listed under Onyango's name.
In his book, Obama writes of meeting his aunt when he visited Kenya as a young man.
"A tall, brown-skinned woman was smiling beside us, and Auma [Obama's half-sister] turned and said, 'Barack, this is Auntie Zeituni. Our father's sister," Obama wrote.
"'Welcome home,' Zeituni said, kissing me on both cheeks."
It is not clear when Onyango arrived in the United States.
She told the London Times that she travels back and forth between the United States and Kenya.
"I have been coming to America ever since 1975. I always come and go," the Times quoted her as saying.
Federal campaign finance records indicate Onyango contributed at least $65 to Obama's campaign in July and September, in $5 and $25 increments. Obama spokesman Burton said the campaign has identified $265 in contributions from Onyango, including those not yet reflected in federal filings, and plans to return the funds.
The gifts would appear to violate federal campaign finance law, which prohibits political donations by non-U.S. citizens.
"The responsibility is the campaign's to ensure the funds they receive are from permissible sources in appropriate amounts," Bob Biersack, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission, told The Times of London.
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