Deportation Policy Omits LGBT Language — And Courts Frustration

[William769]

Though the Obama administration maintains that gay binational couples in deportation situations will not be separated because of an antigay law that the president has declared to be unconstitutional, the issue remains anything but black and white, to the renewed frustration of LGBT immigration advocates and their Capitol Hill allies.

In written guidance released Thursday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys, officials set forth detailed criteria to be considered as it conducts a review of some 300,000 deportations pending in the nation’s inundated immigration system. But they did not explicitly mention LGBT families, who are barred from equal immigration sponsorship privileges under the Defense of Marriage Act.

That such a specific list of circumstances did not include a mention of gay binational couples drew consternation from Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the lead sponsor of a House bill to repeal DOMA.

“Without such a directive in writing, there is a serious risk that such families could be wrongfully divided,” Nadler said in a statement to The Advocate. “With the administration taking an otherwise positive step to make immigration enforcement fairer, it is extremely frustrating that families of LGBT binational couples remain at risk.”

http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Deportation_Policy_Omits_LGBT_Language_And_Courts_Frustration/

[MNBrewer]

1. That's some Fierce Advocacy right there!

Whoa! :sarcasm: