BREAKING: U.S. Immigration Puts Hold On All Binational Partner Deportations

Last week a New York immigration judge temporarily suspended the deportation of an Argentine lesbian while she and her wife contest her green card denial due to DOMA. Today U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revealed that ALL such deportations are now on hold. Chris Geidner gets the big scoop at Metro Weekly:

Following up on reports from this weekend, Metro Weekly just received confirmation from Christopher Bentley, the spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that cases of foreign partners who are married to a same-sex partner and would otherwise be eligible for a green card are on hold in light of questions about the continued validity of the Defense of Marriage Act. Bentley writes, "USCIS has issued guidance to the field asking that related cases be held in abeyance while awaiting final guidance related to distinct legal issues." He notes, however, "USCIS has not implemented any change in policy and intends to follow the President's directive to continue enforcing the law." The legal distinction means that although DOMA is still being enforced, the USCIS is using its discretion to hold off on denying green card applications where applicable.

An amazing development, largely thanks to the work of Immigration Equality and attorney Lavi Soloway, who was interviewed in today's episode of This Week In Prop 8.