The uncle of President Barack Obama was recently arrested and charged with DUI and is now being held without bail on an ICE detainer, Fox News reports

Being arrested and charged with OUI in Framingham can be frightening for anyone, especially an illegal immigrant.

One of the more important tasks facing any noncitizen is to understand the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction. Generally, a first offense Massachusetts OUI will not be a bar for citizenship for someone lawfully in the country. However, it is always important to individually assess any immigration consequences of a plea to a drunk driving charge and to understand those consequences if convicted after trial.

Onyango Obama, 67, was arrested in Framingham after police allege he nearly hit a police cruiser with his SUV after making a rolling stop through a stop sign.

Onyango Obama is originally from Kenya and is the half brother of the president’s late father. He has pleaded not guilty and yet is being held on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. Court documents cited by Fox News state that he previously had a removal order or a deportation order active.

Fox News could not determine his immigration status, but removal orders are typically for people living in the country illegally. Few government sources are commenting on the situation.

According to police, Obama was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, failure to yield the right of way and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. According to police, the officer barely avoided the SUV and was forced to slam on his brakes to avoid a wreck. The 67-year-old allegedly told police at first that he hadn’t had anything to drink but later said he had two beers.

Police said he failed several field sobriety tests and blew a 0.14 on a breath test, nearly twice the state’s .08 legal limit.

In any case of OUI in Framingham, regardless of the status of the driver, there are many defenses. They start with the police officer or law enforcement officer who made the stop. First off, what an officer observes, if witnesses or dash camera footage can dispute it, can go a long way to showing the Commonwealth doesn’t have proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime occurred.

Other factors, such as weather conditions or human error, can also affect an OUI case in Boston. Breathalyzers, devices that are designed to give a blood-alcohol level output of a driver, have been known to be faulty and can be affected by weather conditions. Condensation that builds up inside can alter a reading. Manufacturing defects or uncalibrated machines can also lead to arrest, but be exposed at trial for an acquittal.

There are many ways for a case to be fought in court. The public sometimes believes that an arrest is proof positive that a crime has been committed, but that’s only the beginning.

Massachusetts DUI Defense Attorney Michael DelSignore has offices conveniently located in Stoughton, Attleboro, New Bedford and Westborough.

Call (508) 455-4755 for a free consultation, 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.

More Blog Entries:

Scituate Man Faces Second Massachusetts OUI arrest: August 4, 2011
Jalen Rose Sentence Shows Disparity Between States for DUI Convictions: July 31, 2011