Massive bunch of illegal immigrants are disobeying deportation orders.

Zeituni Onyango came to the United States to seek asylum from her native Kenya but her request was turned down and she was ordered to leave the country in 2004.

Four years later, she is still at the same place and her nephew is about to become the president of the United States.

Onyango’s family connection to Barack Obama has thrown spotlight on a phenomenon that many Americans will find surprising: Approximately half-million immigrants are living in the US neglecting their deportation orders.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stepped up efforts to catch these fugitive aliens and currently, almost 100 ‘fugitive operations teams’ are operating throughout the country. In the past year, more than 34,000 arrests have been made by the teams, which is more than double the number two years ago. But still, there are more than 560,000 such immigrants living in the US.

Fugitive aliens include people who, like Obama’s aunt, wanted asylum in the US but their request was rejected and they were ordered to leave the country. Others were caught entering or living in the US illegally and subsequently failed to show at their deportation hearings.

Generally, illegal immigrants who have been issued deportation notices are given some time to get out of the country on their own and are not just forcibly put aboard a plane. These immigrants are generally out of trouble, if they do not get pulled over by the police or swept up in a workplace raid.

That annoys many immigration reform advocates, who say that the practice breeds disrespect for the law and encourage immigrants to sneak in and stay in the country.

Jack Martin of Federation for America Immigration Reform said that they are strong believers of enforcement of the immigration laws and this is a priority area for getting the message across the country, that if they have been convicted of committing crime or have been ordered deportation, then they will be apprehended if they try to hide or continue to stay in the country.

Government officials say that taking into consideration the money and the manpower available to them, they do the best they possible can, and that they focus on most serious cases, including those which involves illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in this country.

Overall, at present there are almost 11 million illegal immigrants living in the US.