Binational Gay Couple Faces Deportation Wednesday; Groups to Rally in San Francisco
LGBT groups will rally on Wednesday outside a San Francisco courthouse where a deportation hearing that may decide the fate of a married, gay binational couple will take place, Out4Immigration.org writes, in a press release:
On July 13 in San Francisco, Doug Gentry and Alex Benshimol, a married California couple who have been together for six years, will face every same-sex binational couple’s worst nightmare: a deportation hearing. Doug, a U.S. citizen, filed a marriage-based "green card" petition for Alex in July 2010. It was denied in March in a one-page letter citing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as the only reason. The couple re-filed the petition in June, citing changes in the administration position on DOMA that took place in February, and the Attorney General's intervention in a Board of Immigration Appeals case in April involving a gay binational couple facing deportation which was made public on May 5.
Alex came into the U.S. 12 years ago from Venezuela and overstayed a tourist visa, an immigration violation that straight binational couples can easily remedy once married; as a gay married couple, Doug and Alex do not have that option.
GetEQUAL, Marriage Equality USA, Out4Immigration, and Stop the Deportations have organized the rally, which is set to take place on July 13, form 7:30 - 8:30 am at 120 Montgomery Street in SF.
There is a Facebook event page for the rally here. And a change.org petition here.
HOW'S ABOUT A TIP JAR. THEY BOTH LOOK LIKE THEY COULD USE SOME NICE, CRISPY EMPANADAS.
Posted by: THE QUEEN | Jul 11, 2011 11:30:56 AM
What a hilarious comment QUEEN, dont let the fact that it doesnt make any sense to anyone bother you. Im sure you thought for nanoseconds before coming up with that bon mot. Keep at it!
Posted by: MrJ | Jul 11, 2011 11:46:20 AM
I wish them the best...It can not be easy to fight the system just to stay together...
=)
As for the way they look: I find them handsome and without the need for any empanadas at all!
Posted by: george F | Jul 11, 2011 1:31:49 PM
Their deportation will probably be halted given all of the latest cases that eventually ended in the deportations being ceased at the last moment, but the fact this continues to happen in the first place is a disgrace. This should prove as an example why marriage equality is so important. Also, it shows how faulty our immigration system is.
Posted by: Francis | Jul 11, 2011 1:41:19 PM
THANK you for posting this. I am involved with Out4Immigration and we are hoping for an excellent rally on Wednesday morning, so the timing could not be better. As an American with a foreign partner of 17 years, I am so grateful to see the issue getting the attention it needs, because the moment to stand up and demand better is now. I care about this issue not just because I am deeply affected. To me, the fact that anyone would be subjected to this treatment because of who they love is a blemish that diminishes our national character considerably. May we look back on cases like Dog and Alex's as among the first chinks opening up in the wall that has kept all such couples living with uncertainty or separation for far too long--and that soon it will be commonplace for ALL Americans to have the right to sponsor their spouses for legal residency.
Posted by: Chris Barnett | Jul 11, 2011 1:54:20 PM
OMG. Apolgies Dog. I mean Doug!
Posted by: Chris Barnett | Jul 11, 2011 2:00:56 PM
I feel for this couple, but knowing them I wish they weren't among the first cases. I'll leave it at that.
Posted by: Dave Lobo | Jul 11, 2011 2:28:26 PM
Heart felt words, Chris Barnett. I'm with you. Blessings.
Posted by: terryp | Jul 11, 2011 3:44:24 PM