s*******i
发帖数: 178 | 1 Judge: Same-Sex Immigrants Must Count As Spouses
LOS ANGELES - A federal judge has ruled that the Defense Of Marriage Act is
unconstitutional as it discriminates against same-sex married persons
seeking immigration visas.
District Court Judge Consuelo Marshall ruled late Friday in Los Angeles that
only state laws govern marriage, and that Congress has no rational basis to
deny lawfully-married same-sex immigrants the same constitutional rights
kept by opposite-sex applicants.
The lawsuit was filed by Jane DeLeon, an immigrant who sought an immigrant
visa based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen. The Customs and Immigration
Service denied her a visa because the marriage is same-sex and thus not
recognized under the federal Defense Of Marriage Act -- DOMA -- which bans
federal recognition of same sex marriage licenses granted by the few states
that do so.
"This court finds that the broad distinction created by DOMA Section 3 is
not rationally related to Congress' interest in a uniform federal definition
of marriage," the judge wrote.
Under DOMA, the judge wrote, "opposite-sex couples may receive federal
marriage-based benefits if joined in a valid state marriage. Same-sex
couples will not, even if like (the) plaintiffs, they are joined in a valid
state marriage."
Marshall's opinion weighed heavily on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals decision to overturn California's voter-approved, anti-same sex-
marriage initiative,
Proposition 8. That decision is one of two same-sex marriage cases under
review by the U.S. Supreme Court, with the other being a challenge to DOMA
itself.
Attorneys at the Center For Human Rights today claimed a big legal victory,
and noted the federal judge in Los Angeles also granted class action status
for all immigrants who lost out on getting visas because of the nature of
their personal relationships.
"This will afford maximum protection to ... those who are low-income and
without the means to hire attorneys, and those whose visa applications have
already been unconstitutionally denied," said Peter Schey, the center's
president.
"We suspect there will be no further denials of visas based on DOMA after
this decision is reviewed by Department of Homeland Security headquarters,"
he said.
The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Justice Department, but President
Obama then ordered his lawyers to stop defending the Defense Of Marriage Act
. The judge ruling was thus a denial to the lawyers hired by the Republican
majority of the House of Representatives.
A spokesman for the Congressional effort was not available for comment.
DeLeon had lived in the United States with her partner for 20 years, and
they married in 2008. Her immigrant visa had been tentatively approved by
immigration officials based on her employment, but she then was denied the
necessary hardship waiver that is typically offered to people married to
citizens of the opposite sex. CNS-04-20-2013 10:36 | m******1
发帖数: 19713 | | p***2
发帖数: 374 | 3 DOMA推翻了，可以控告政府以获得retrospective的移民权吗？
错过跟bf一起交485的机会，为了绿卡白白耗了很多年，这些损失政府负责？ |
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