The federal immigration court in Boston has allowed Aunt Zeituni Onyango to stay in the country at least until February 4, 2010, which is the date of her next hearing.

This  postponement is  a convenient, if  temporary, victory for both  President Obama and his aunt.    Obama  risked looking heartless if he allowed his aunt  to be deported, and he risked looking soft on immigration enforcement if the courts legalized her.

The  danger for Obama is that the ongoing Aunt Zeituni saga  illustrates  how  easily illegal immigrants can postpone deportation  through  our  beleaguered immigration  courts.  But  I suspect the Republicans will never point that out because they don't want to  risk being called racist.