Washington: US President Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, was put in an embarrassing position when a seven-year-old girl asked whether her mother would be deported for being an illegal immigrant. Authorities later said that the girl's mother won't be deported.
Michelle was on a visit with Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala to the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland when she took questions from the young students.
The girl said: "My mom... she says that Barack Obama is taking everybody away that doesn't have papers."
Michelle responded: "Yeah, well that's something that we have to work on, right? To make sure that people can be here with the right kind of papers, right? That's exactly right."
The girl continued: "But my mom doesn't have any papers."
To which Michelle replied: "Well, we have to work on that. We have to fix that, and everybody's got to work together in Congress to make sure that happens."
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the girl's mother will not be deported, CBS News reported on Thursday.
"ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is a federal law enforcement agency that focuses on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritises criminal aliens who pose a threat to our communities," Matt Chandler, DHS assistant press secretary, was quoted as saying.
"Our investigations are based on solid law enforcement work and not classroom Q and As."
IANS
First Published: Friday, May 21, 2010, 16:17