Washington:
Before Barack Obama was born, his parents may have considered putting him up for adoption, according to documents obtained by a reporter for The Boston Globe.
Mr. Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., told immigration officials that Ann Dunham, whom he had recently married, would make "arrangements with the Salvation Army to give the baby away," one document said.
The revelation came from 1961 immigration forms obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Sally Jacobs, a reporter who has written a book called "The Other Barack, The Bold and Reckless Life of President Obama's Father." An excerpt from the book, which will be released next week, appeared Thursday in The Globe.
President Obama's father, then a student at the University of Hawaii, was questioned about his marital status by immigration officials when he applied for an extension of his visa, which he had to do each year.
An immigration official had become leery of his "playboy ways" and thought Mr. Obama might have more than one wife, which can be grounds for deportation. Mr. Obama said at the time -- falsely -- that he had divorced his Kenyan wife, with whom he had two children.
The excerpt of the book says it is unclear whether Mr. Obama intended to have his son adopted or if he was fabricating the story to appease immigration officials. Mr. Obama often gave contradictory answers on the forms, sometimes leaving questions about his marital status blank.
Additionally, Ms. Dunham, who was also studying at the University of Hawaii, talked optimistically at the time about a future with her new husband and their child, according to an interview with a family member of Ms. Dunham.
Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary, who was also interviewed by Ms. Jacobs, said that the president did not know about the adoption question before the Freedom of Information Act request and that he did not believe his mother ever seriously considered it.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Mr. Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., told immigration officials that Ann Dunham, whom he had recently married, would make "arrangements with the Salvation Army to give the baby away," one document said.
The revelation came from 1961 immigration forms obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Sally Jacobs, a reporter who has written a book called "The Other Barack, The Bold and Reckless Life of President Obama's Father." An excerpt from the book, which will be released next week, appeared Thursday in The Globe.
President Obama's father, then a student at the University of Hawaii, was questioned about his marital status by immigration officials when he applied for an extension of his visa, which he had to do each year.
An immigration official had become leery of his "playboy ways" and thought Mr. Obama might have more than one wife, which can be grounds for deportation. Mr. Obama said at the time -- falsely -- that he had divorced his Kenyan wife, with whom he had two children.
The excerpt of the book says it is unclear whether Mr. Obama intended to have his son adopted or if he was fabricating the story to appease immigration officials. Mr. Obama often gave contradictory answers on the forms, sometimes leaving questions about his marital status blank.
Additionally, Ms. Dunham, who was also studying at the University of Hawaii, talked optimistically at the time about a future with her new husband and their child, according to an interview with a family member of Ms. Dunham.
Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary, who was also interviewed by Ms. Jacobs, said that the president did not know about the adoption question before the Freedom of Information Act request and that he did not believe his mother ever seriously considered it.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
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