DOMA and immigration - N.Y. Couple Spared Deportation

[Derechos]

Government attorneys have agreed to suspend deportation proceedings in the case of a binational lesbian couple in New York pending their marriage-based immigration case.

Monica Alcota and Cristina Ojeda of Queens are the first married LGBT couple to argue in court that a pending deportation should be terminated since the Obama administration’s February announcement that it would no longer defend section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, according to their attorney. Alcota, a citizen of Argentina, wed her American wife last year in Connecticut but has continued to face removal proceedings.

At a Tuesday morning hearing in New York Immigration Court, a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement attorney indicated that the government was willing to adjourn the deportation proceedings against Alcota while Ojeda proceeds with a green card petition on behalf of her noncitizen spouse. The judge agreed with the government attorney’s recommendation and asked the couple for an update on Ojeda’s alien relative petition by December.

“It definitely brings us more hope,” Ojeda told The Advocate of the hearing. “It’s the first time someone has been willing to let us pursue our case and believes that we should be treated equal."

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/03/22/NY_Couple_Spared_Deportation/

[EFerrari]

1. A bit of good news. There are a lot of couples in this situation. n/t