October Surprise: Obama Has Foreign Relatives!

Obama has an aunt who is present in the United States in violation of the immigration laws.  So what?  Lots of American citizens and legal immigrants have undocumented alien family members.  See this report from the Urban Institute on so-called mixed-status families, that is, nuclear families in which some members are citizens, some not.  For example, the study estimates that 70% of undocumented immigrants who head up households in New York have citizen children.

It’s hard to blame someone for having an illegal alien relative.  What are they supposed to do — turn the person in?  As a visa overstayer, Obama’s aunt is here in violation of the immigration laws, but that by itself does not constitute a crime.  Even if Obama had been involved — say, let her stay at his home — that wouldn’t have been a crime, either.  Aiding and abetting offenses in the illegal immigration context are found only with respect to smuggling and employment.

Indeed, in Obama’s case, rather than trying to nail him for his aunt’s status, the more powerful rap would be, why didn’t he do anything to help?  But he has a pretty persuasive answer to that, given the thinness of his connection to his father.

In the end, the only real electoral damage here would be with the marginally xenophobic, those voters who would vote for Obama but are tripping on the unfamiliarity.