On June 8th at the tail end of a White House press conference, Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about the ongoing deportations of same-sex spouses of Americans, specifically:
“In June 2009 the Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum on deporting certain widows and widowers of U.S. citizens. At the time, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that, ‘smart immigration policy balances strong enforcement practices with the common-sense practical solutions to complicated issues.’ Yet, in May, asked about requests by advocates for a moratorium on deportation of foreign partners and same-sex binational relationships, similar to the 2009 moratorium, you said the President can’t just wave a wand and change the law. Can you explain the difference there?”
The answer from Mr. Carney? A) The President cannot wave a magic wand. B) That we need to work on comprehensive immigration reform and generate bipartisanship support for it sometime in the future, one day it will happen.
Imagine having plans for your life, your career, your family, your dreams — even your ability to go home to the one you love in the evening—hinge upon successful comprehensive immigration reform! It’s ludicrous to think any citizens would be faced with this, yet thousands of Americans and their families are.
While a court has struck down The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, and the Justice Department agrees with that, one must wonder why no action has been taken to stop the deportations.
This equivocating at the highest branches of government MUST stop. Press Secretary Carney is the mouthpiece for this administration, and his answers are highly unsatisfactory to the estimated 54,000 couples whose partners are at risk of deportation.
The body of Out4Immigration’s petition letter springboards from the words of Attorney Lavi Soloway, writing in response to the interchange described above. Out4Immigration has been saying for a long time that this is a community issue. As long as some of us are not free to choose where we want to live and who we want to commit our lives to, then no one is free. If we do not have the support of wider community, we allow injustice to perpetrate. Please sign this petition letter, and please share it widely.
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7×7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
