Michelle Obama was put in an embarrassing position during a school
visit when a seven-year-old girl said her mother was an illegal
immigrant and asked if Barack Obama would deport her. 
During a school visit, the girl told the
first lady that her mother believed 'President Barack Obama was taking
everybody away that doesn't have papers'
Photo: AP
The encounter came during a trip to a primary
school with Margarita Zavala, the first lady of Mexico, designed to
promote Mrs Obama's campaign against childhood obesity.
During the visit at the New Hampshire
Estates Elementary School just outside Washington, the girl told the
first lady that her mother believed "President Barack Obama was taking
everybody away that doesn't have papers".
When Mrs Obama responded that "this was something
we have to work on", the girl replied: "But my mum doesn't have papers."
Mrs Obama replied: "We have to fix that. And everybody's got to work together in Congress to make sure that that happens."
The school visit on Wednesday came shortly after the Obamas had welcomed Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, and his wife to the White House, where both leaders denounced a tough new law recently passed in Arizona intended to deter illegal immigration across its border with Mexico.
Mr Obama supports the divisive idea of granting the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico, a "path to citizenship".
The US president is under growing pressure from Left-wing Democrats and the Hispanic lobby to introduce a reform bill that includes an effective amnesty for illegal immigrants, but is unwilling to risk such a controversial move with congressional elections only six months away. A similar effort under George W Bush failed in 2007.
The girl's question was a sharp reminder of the intensely personal nature of the issue. Though children born in the US to illegal immigrants automatically become citizens, their parents are always vulnerable to deportation.
Jane Litchko, head teacher at the school declined to identify the child and said that the school did not inquire about the immigration status of families.
"We serve every child who comes through the door," she said. "We don't ask that kind of question."
Roughly 65 per cent of the school's students speak a language other than English.
The Department of Homeland Security made it clear that the girl's family would not be investigated, while even congressmen known for a tough line on illegal immigration did not support taking the case further.
The girl's remarks nonetheless provided fresh ammunition for Mr Obama's critics. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh joined several Right-wing bloggers in assuming that the question had been planted to raise sympathy for the plight of illegal immigrants.
She was "supposed to say 'Arizona' not 'Obama'," he said. "I don't think there's any doubt it was a set-up question."
Mrs Obama replied: "We have to fix that. And everybody's got to work together in Congress to make sure that that happens."
The school visit on Wednesday came shortly after the Obamas had welcomed Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, and his wife to the White House, where both leaders denounced a tough new law recently passed in Arizona intended to deter illegal immigration across its border with Mexico.
Mr Obama supports the divisive idea of granting the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico, a "path to citizenship".
The US president is under growing pressure from Left-wing Democrats and the Hispanic lobby to introduce a reform bill that includes an effective amnesty for illegal immigrants, but is unwilling to risk such a controversial move with congressional elections only six months away. A similar effort under George W Bush failed in 2007.
The girl's question was a sharp reminder of the intensely personal nature of the issue. Though children born in the US to illegal immigrants automatically become citizens, their parents are always vulnerable to deportation.
Jane Litchko, head teacher at the school declined to identify the child and said that the school did not inquire about the immigration status of families.
"We serve every child who comes through the door," she said. "We don't ask that kind of question."
Roughly 65 per cent of the school's students speak a language other than English.
The Department of Homeland Security made it clear that the girl's family would not be investigated, while even congressmen known for a tough line on illegal immigration did not support taking the case further.
The girl's remarks nonetheless provided fresh ammunition for Mr Obama's critics. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh joined several Right-wing bloggers in assuming that the question had been planted to raise sympathy for the plight of illegal immigrants.
She was "supposed to say 'Arizona' not 'Obama'," he said. "I don't think there's any doubt it was a set-up question."