One day after President Obama announced in a historic interview that he supports same-sex marriage, Senator Chris Coons joined 16 of his Senate colleagues in urging the Administration to protect married LGBT couples facing deportation.
Chris and his colleagues called on the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to provide relief to same-sex couples in which one spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Chris believes that while the Defense of Marriage Act is being challenged in court, the denial of green card applications in these cases is unfairly forcing couples to choose between breaking the law or being separated from their families. He strongly opposes the Defense of Marriage Act and believes Congress should repeal this discriminatory law.
Led by Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the letter reads in part “We write to you to reiterate our request that the Administration provide relief for lesbian and gay families in which one spouse is not a U.S. citizen during this time of legal uncertainty…With marriage equality rights being extended to more and more citizens of this country, and with the Department of Justice’s repudiation of DOMA, we are concerned with the toll the continued denial of I-130 applications for same-sex immigrant spouses is exacting on families in this country.”
Along with Senator Coons and Senator Kerry, the letter was signed by Senators Patrick Leahy, Ron Wyden, Bernard Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Daniel Akaka, Al Franken, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg, Barbara Mikulski, Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Barbara Boxer, Patty Murray and Kirsten Gillibrand.