DHS to issue written guidance protecting LGBT couples from deportation

[babylonsister]

DHS to issue written guidance protecting LGBT couples from deportation
By Mike Lillis - 09/28/12 01:57 PM ET


In a victory for gay rights advocates, the Obama administration announced this week that it will take additional steps to protect same-sex relationships when considering deportations.

In a letter to scores of House Democrats, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano said the agency will soon issue a written guidance to immigration enforcement officials clarifying that "long-term" lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) partnerships be taken into account when deeming deportation cases.

In the past, DHS has given verbal vows that such relationships will be considered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials during deportation proceedings. But many Democrats and gay rights advocates have pressed for more concrete assurances that same-sex ties be included among the "family relationships" that agents are expected to consider as they exercise their "prosecutorial discretion" to decide which cases to pursue.

On Thursday, Napolitano met those requests.

"In an effort to make clear the definition of the phrase 'family relationships,' I have directed ICE to disseminate written guidance to the field that the interpretation of the phrase 'family relationships' includes long-term, same-sex partners," Napolitano wrote in the Sept. 27 letter. Napolitano was quick to note that same-sex ties — or any ties — are no guarantee that an individual would not be deported, but assured those partnerships will be considered along with other factors.

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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/259221-dhs-to-issue-written-guidance-protecting-lgbt-couples-from-deportation