Prop 8 Blog
Binational San Francisco couple will not be split up by deportation
By Jacob Combs
Good news from the San Francisco Chronicle today:
Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk, a bi-national, married gay couple who have lived most of the 19 years of their relationship in San Francisco’s Castro district, today won a two year stay against the threat of deportation, thanks to the personal intervention of their representative, House leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and state Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat who represents parts of San Francisco, also provided assistance.
[...]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a letter to Makk today saying he has been granted “deferred action” on his case for two years. The letter said the action is “an exercise of prosecutorial discretion” that allows the agency not to pursue deportation for a specific period. Makk met multiple conditions of the agency’s new guidelines for immigration agents to prioritize deportation cases, including family ties, status as a primary caregiver, lack of criminal record and his long period of legal residence under a series of visas that eventually expired.
Although it’s great to hear that couples like Bradford and Anthony are being spared from separation, cases like theirs show just how important it is to repeal DOMA, either legislatively or in the courts. Couples who are legally married in their home state and have resided there for almost 20 years should never have to worry about being split up because of their immigration status
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