President Barack Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango, who was denied asylum in the United States but stayed illegally for years has died in Massachusetts at the age of 61, according to CBS News.
Onyango was a half-sister of Obama's late father and was granted asylum in 2010 by a judge who said she could be in danger if she returned to Kenya because of her relationship with Obama, CBS reported.
Cleveland attorney Margaret Wong represented Onyango in her immigration case and said Onyango died Tuesday in a Boston rehabilitation center, CBS reported. She added Onyango was being treated for cancer and respiratory problems.
Onyango moved to the U.S. from Kenya in 2000 and was denied asylum by an immigration judge in 2004, according to CBS. She remained in the country illegally, living in Boston public housing. She later lived in a homeless shelter for two years before being assigned public housing.
Onyango illegal immigrant status was revealed days before Obama was elected in 2008, CBS reported. Onyango landed in the public spotlight during President Obama's 2008 campaign after the Associated Press reported her connection to the president.
