The Boston Globe is reporting this happy news of a mitzvah Senator John Kerry has delivered on behalf of a married couple in his home state.
Tim Coco (left) with Genesio Oliveira and their dog, Q-tip, at home in Haverhill yesterday. Oliveira can now try again for legal residency. (David Kamerman for The Boston Globe)
Tim Coco and Genesio Oliveira married in 2005, among the throngs who wed after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts. But for nearly three years, they lived apart — Coco in Haverhill and Oliveira in his native Brazil — because federal law does not recognize their union.
On Wednesday, Oliveira returned to Massachusetts for an emotional reunion after federal immigration officials took the rare step of granting him permission to stay for one year on humanitarian grounds, clearing the way for him to try again for legal residency. His return followed personal appeals by Senator John F. Kerry, US Attorney General Eric Holder, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on their behalf.
As we in the LGBT community and our supporters cheer this happy news, let us pause to reflect on the bigger picture.
According to the Boston Globe article, the 2000 US Census indicated there were 35,000 bi-national same-sex couples in America.
It's clear most of those 35,000 couples won't have the benefit of a US Senator personally going to bat with Janet Napolitano on their behalf. Piecemeal fluke victories are great to celebrate for a moment. But the story could have turned out very differently for Coco and Oliveira, and indeed may still. This is merely a stay in the US Government's attempt to tear apart a legally married couple. Oliveira may yet still be subjected to deportation, as his US citizen husband remains helpless to stop it.
The problem needs to be fixed universally. Ideally by repealing the odious Defense of Marriage Act and allowing Federal recognition of same-sex marriage. This would endow LGBT citizens with the same pathway to immigration that straight people take for granted. New York Representative Jerry Nadler made a strong case for renewed effort for DOMA repeal just yesterday, calling on his fellow Congressmen and women and the President to make this priority.
In the short term, the Uniting American Families Act may provide some relief faster. The legislation would provide the right for LGBT Americans to petition for residency status for their non-citizen partners. Known in the House as H.R.1024 - Uniting American Families Act of 2009, Nadler is the lead sponsor and it has unfortunately only 124 co-sponsors. See if yours is among them here.
In the Senate the bill is also named the Uniting American Families Act and the lead sponsor is Sen. Patrick Leahy of VT. Opencongress link is here, and showing no co-sponsors, which is an error. Thomas law link is here, and shows 23 sponsors. See if yours are there.
I've watched this legislation languish for years, with dismay. It seems clear that there will never be large numbers of people whose anguish this bill will relieve. But they are real people whose lives are threatened to be torn apart. It is the reason Glenn Greenwald is forced to divide his time between the United States and the more progressive country of Brazil (see: America's inhumane immigration inequality) and the reason Kos' own smellybeast is making reluctant plans to ex-pat, relocating to England.
Let's get this moving, shall we? Congress seems poised to tackle immigration reform. Can we work to address the injustice visited on citizens as we address the injustices visited on non-citizens? If you speak to your representatives about immigration, please remember to relate your support for LGBT Americans citizen's stake in the legislation as well.
More on the issue can be found at Immigration Equality, the primary lobby group that has done a lot of good work on this issue. There is even a tool there that you can utilize to contact your Representatives and Senators. Please use it.