Last week, Janet Napolitano on behalf of U.S. Homeland Security announced high-priority deportation cases will supersede immigration cases which are less-pressing, such as those within a same-sex relationship or within LGBT families. Now, binational couple Alex Benshimol and Doug Gentry will remain safely in the United States after Immigrations and Customs Enforcement announced the closure of their deportation case.
Lavi Soloway, immigrations attorney for the couple, expressed elation over the dropped case, and in a public statement explained that “for the second time this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has dropped deportation proceedings against a married gay binational couple, who have courageously fought a high profile campaign as part of the Stop The Deportations – DOMA Project.”
Soloway also explained the proceedings came in wake of a July 13 appearance before a San Francisco Immigration Judge, Marilyn Teeter, who submitted a “request for administrative closure” to the U.S. government on behalf of the couple’s case. On August 11, “the Judge received and granted the government’s Motion to Administratively Close deportation proceedings against Venezuelan Alex Benshimol,” a well-received decision and celebration for LGBT families nationwide.
“Another DOMA deportation has been stopped, following a year-long campaign by the Stop The Deportations-DOMA Project. We are preventing DOMA from destroying marriages, one victory at a time, but we still need a uniform policy that will make these case by case determinations unnecessary,” said Soloway in a statement.
As a step forward into the right direction, Soloway also expressed the need and hope to eventually cease all deportations which affect LGBT families and partners in wake of Napolitano’s recent announcement surrounding immigrations laws.
