NO PLAN IS MY PLAN

Obama Wants Someone Else To Stop The Deportation Of Bi-National Gay Couples… Or Something

The so-called Defense of Marriage Act still threatens to tear apart thousands of legally-married bi-national same-sex couples like Cristina & Monica and Henry & Josh. So what’s the White House got to say about it? Eh…

In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security placed a temporary hold on deporting the foreign born widows and widowers of deceased Americans. So yesterday Metro Weekly asked why the administration hasn’t taken a similar step for same-sex bi-national couples.

White House press secretary Jay Carney responded, “The President has called for comprehensive immigration reform for a reason—because he thinks we have to move in a comprehensive way to get there.” It’s an echo of Carney’s May comment that the president “can’t just wave a wand and change the law.”

So the administration considers foreign-born widows more worth protecting than American-born LGBT citizens. OK… just checking.

Remember, we have tried and failed to get comprehensive immigration reform law through the Legislative branch for about a decade now and with Republicans controlling the House, successful passage of LGBT-friendly immigration reform in the near future seems unlikely.

Now, Attorney General Eric Holder’s questioning of DOMA’s constitutionality did convince the judge to postpone Henry & Josh’s deportation proceedings until December so that the Board of Immigration Appeals can consider how to handle legally married gay couples. But that’s hardly any consolation for other same-sex unions hanging in legal limbo.

Of course, a moratorium implies temporariness, and if the White House placed a moratorium on deporting gay bi-national couples, it could easily change once Obama’s out of office. But in the meanwhile what is the legislative plan to protect these couples? A full-out DOMA repeal that won’t happen until 2016?

That magic wand starting to sound mighty good about now. Psst, Obama… Draco Malfoy has it.

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