I love Nancy Pelosi! Wells & Makk update :)

[azulai]

This is an update on the Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk deportation case.
I'm linking this to the old closed thread: [Only registered members can see links. ] in case anyone needs the back story.

[Only registered members can see links. ]

As ThinkProgress has often reported, many binational gay couples live in constant fear of being separated by deportation because the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents the federal government from recognizing their relationships. But for one San Francisco couple at least, the story has a happy ending, thanks to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Pelosi personally intervened on behalf of two of her constituents, Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk, a couple who have lived in San Francisco’s Castro District for the better part of 19 years and were married in Massachusetts in 2004:

Makk is an Australian citizen who was facing deportation after the couple was denied spousal immigration benefits under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which blocks federal benefits to same-sex couples.

Wednesday the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent the couple a letter that they have been granted a two year deferred action on deportation. Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, personally intervened on behalf of the couple to ensure that Makk could stay in the country.

“The positive resolution of Anthony’s immigration petition is a personal victory for Bradford and Anthony, and keeps this loving couple together,” Pelosi said in a statement. Pelosi told the couple about the ruling herself Wednesday.

According to Metro Weekly, Pelosi also noted the broader implications of the case: “Anthony would have faced deportation because of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, even though he has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, has no criminal history, has never lived here illegally and is the primary caregiver to his husband.”

She applauded the recent efforts of the Obama administration to close many low-priority immigration deportation proceedings, including those against same-sex couples. Pelosi also pledged to fight for the full repeal of DOMA, which continues to keep many other binational gay couples in legal limbo.

Bravo Nancy Pelosi...once again!

OK...This is the first time I heard anyone else say they love Nancy Pelosi! I am the sole liberal on one political site I go to debate...been there since 1999...and I love saying I love Nancy Pelosi (and I do) because it really pisses them all off. They think I am going to cave and start to think like they do...fat chance. What a surprise to see someone else say it after all these years.

Nancy Pelosi is a great friend to the GLBT community......make no mistake about it.

[azulai]

East, as you know I'm just starting to really get more into politics mostly through LGBT issues. I never took much notice of her until this year and seeing the absolute failure of our current Speaker of the House.

What a lost for the US (NOT just on LGBT issues) that she is no longer Speaker! I just think she has a heart as well as sense. I respect her so much. I read her as a true listener, someone who THINKS rather than follows.

I really don't know much about her other than she is a representative from California, was the Speaker of the House, is liberal, her social policies match that liberal bend, and her economic policies lean toward regulation. I personally am for intelligent regulation (regulation that prevents unmitigated greed from establishing itself above the welfare of individuals) . . . the balanced approach to economics. I really don't see why there is that much fuss over her from either side. What am I missing?

Damn...this is one of my favorite topics but I have to open my shop and pay my bills so I will come back and comment when I have time.

[azulai]

Another article with more info: [Only registered members can see links. ] from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Washington --

Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk have been together for 19 years. They're married and live in the Castro, but have been living under the threat of separation because Wells is a U.S. citizen and Makk a citizen of Australia.

That threat ended Wednesday, when they won a two-year stay of Makk's deportation.

"We're still dizzy from the news," said Makk, 49. "We are elated."

Because the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act bars all federal marital rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples, Makk was denied consideration for a green card based on his marriage to Wells, who suffers from severe AIDS-related illnesses. Makk is his primary caregiver.

"I'm relieved, really excited and relieved," said Wells, 56. "I am so grateful I don't have to worry about Anthony being taken out of the country."

The couple's plight, first covered by The Chronicle in June, triggered international media attention.

On Wednesday, the Department of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a letter to Makk saying he has been granted "deferred action" on his case for two years. The agency said the stay is "an exercise of prosecutorial discretion" that allows the agency not to pursue deportation for a specific period.
Political intervention

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, personally intervened in their case, aided by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and state Sen. Mark Leno, an openly gay Democrat who represents parts of San Francisco.

Pelosi broke the news to the couple herself Wednesday. She issued a statement calling the stay "a personal victory for Bradford and Anthony and keeps this loving couple together."

Pelosi also credited the Obama administration's new immigration guidelines, issued last year, that ordered government agents to prioritize deportation cases. Makk met multiple conditions of the new guidelines, including family ties, status as a primary caregiver, lack of criminal record and his long period of legal residence without any immigration violations.

The letter from the immigration agency said Makk is also eligible to apply for work authorization. The deferral is also renewable, so that Makk could request that it be extended when it expires in two years.

"Although this is not a permanent fix, it is a very significant fix for them, and ensures that at least for the near term, they do not have to worry about separation," said Steve Ralls, a spokesman for Immigration Equality, the advocacy group that championed their case. "Anthony will be able to remain with Bradford and care for him."
Visa requirements

After meeting Wells in Australia nearly two decades ago, Makk gave up his career there, started a business in San Francisco and invested in rental property to meet visa requirements that allowed him to remain with Wells. The couple were legally married in Massachusetts on July 22, 2004.

But last year, Makk's final visa expired. The Department of Homeland Security denied his application for permanent residence, citing the Defense of Marriage Act. That left the couple little recourse but to move to Australia, an option they said would be a last resort given Wells' medical condition and uncertainties about their prospects in Australia. Makk was insistent that he not remain in the United States illegally.

"I am grateful to have Nancy Pelosi as my member of Congress," Wells said. "She selflessly put herself in to help every way she could and she succeeded. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Mark Leno also stepped up to the plate to do whatever they could to support us."

A November study by the Williams Institute, a pro-gay think tank based at UCLA, estimated that there are 28,500 same-sex couples living in the United States in which one member is a citizen of another country. More than 7,100 of those couples live in California, more than any other state. Not all are married.
Same-sex marriage

Six states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage, and several thousand couples were married in California in 2008 before voters passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state.

Given the growing number of same-sex couples legally married under state laws, conflicts with the Defense of Marriage Act are increasing. In addition to prohibiting binational couples from pursuing permanent resident status as accorded to heterosexual couples, the law affects taxes, Social Security and other issues legally linked to marriage.

[pellaz]

appreciate where/ when it comes from

[fredv3b]

Originally Posted by East

Nancy Pelosi is a great friend to the GLBT community......make no mistake about it.

Much as I applaud her intervention in this particular case, I have one question. What did she do towards repealing DOMA when the Democrats had control of both houses of Congress and she was Speaker?


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Originally Posted by fredv3b

Much as I applaud her intervention in this particular case, I have one question. What did she do towards repealing DOMA when the Democrats had control of both houses of Congress and she was Speaker?

The way things unfolded the first order of business was the Hate Crimes Legislation and the failed attempt at the Employment Non Discrimination Act but truly the first part of Obama and Pelosi's reign was to enact Health Care which was a top priority and required all of their collective efforts and bargaining as it was at the core of their campaigns It was a disappointment as the plan sucked...I don't think she ever abandoned the GLBT community but she has alot of other things she needed to do and getting bi partisan support for a comprehensive health care bill and passing what she knew she could pass at the time took precedent. I respect that. Depending on how you look at it you can argue that she didn't do enough but I think she used caution and did what she could do at the time and continues to do so.

She has a 100% rating from HRC and is regarded as a staunch defender of pro gay legislation.

Check out ON THE ISSUES which lists every politician and where the stand on the issues...I love this website...

[Only registered members can see links. ]

[fredv3b]

I take that as a nothing then.


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Originally Posted by fredv3b

I take that as a nothing then.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes...nothing is the correct answer to your specific question.......

[azulai]

Another article: some good stuff but it really hits home about how much more needs to be done. Bolding mine.

washingtonblade.com [Only registered members can see links. ]

Bradford Wells breathed a sigh of relief this week following the news that his Australian-native spouse, Anthony Makk, won’t be forced to leave the United States anytime soon.

“I’m absolutely elated,” Wells said. “The pressing issue of my family being destroyed has been dealt with for the time being.”

On Wednesday, Wells, 56, received a letter from U.S. Customs & Immigration Services that potential deportation action on Makk, 49, won’t happen for at least two years.

Wells said he received the news while watching the Republican presidential candidates on television and feeling discouraged by their anti-gay rhetoric when he received an unexpected phone call.

“It was Nancy Pelosi calling,” Wells said. “She called to tell me that the problem had been solved and Anthony had been given deferred action and that my family would be together. The deferred action was good for two years. That gave me such a feeling of joy and relief.”

Wells and Makk met with House Minority Leader Pelosi (D-Calif.) to discuss their situation in D.C. during an October meeting, according to The Advocate.

Makk said he was “over the moon happy” upon hearing about the deferred action because it means his efforts to stay in the United States haven’t been in vain.

“To be able to remain here legally has been important to us, and it always has been,” Makk said. “The fact that they don’t grant this [deferred action] to many people at all makes this even more special.”

Under current immigration law, straight Americans can sponsor their foreign spouses for residency in the United States through a marriage-based green card application, but the same option isn’t available to gay bi-national couples because the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Consequently, foreign nationals in same-sex marriages could be deported if they’re undocumented or upon the expiration of their green cards. Makk was in the United States from 2000 to 2010 under a business visa, but after his company shut down, he lost his visa status and faced separation from the country.

For Wells, the prospect of being separated from his spouse was distressing because he has AIDS and depends on his spouse for care.

“He helps me get through when things just seem too difficult for me to deal with,” Wells said. “Sometimes I get so sick, I can’t deal with them … I’ve been in a lot of pain lately, so walking has been very difficult. He helps me out with that.”

Wells and Makk became a high-profile case when the San Francisco Chronicle profiled them in July and reported on the U.S. Customs & Immigration Service’s decision to deny the couple a green card. Even though the couple was married in Massachusetts in 2004 and has been together 19 years, they were unable to receive a green card because of DOMA.

But the letter dated Jan. 4 from U.S. Customs & Immigration Services states that Makk has been granted temporary deferment and won’t have to worry about deportation for that period of time.

“This is to advise you that effective today, January 4, 2012, you have been granted deferred action for a period of two years,” the letter states. “This action will expire on January 3, 2014.”

The letter explains that the deferred action is the result of prosecutorial discretion being exercised by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, but doesn’t confer or alter any immigration status.

Still, the letter also states that as a person granted deferred action, Makk can apply for employment authorization in the United States. Additionally, he’s eligible for an extension of this deferred action beyond the two years that have already been allotted.

USCIS didn’t respond to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on why Wells and Makk were given deferred action in their case.

The decision falls within the scope of the prosecutorial discretion memo on deportations that the Department of Homeland Security issued in June. Additionally, the move is consistent with the Obama administration’s plan announced in August to take low-priority cases out of the deportation pipeline on a case-by-case basis.

Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for Immigration Equality, which is handling the Wells and Makk case, said the action marks the first time the administration has moved to protect a bi-national couple before the start of removal proceedings.

“For the first time, the federal government has intervened, prior to the initiation of removal proceedings, to grant real, tangible relief to a married bi-national couple,” Ralls said. “The decision to grant Anthony deferred action, which can be renewed beyond the initial two years if needed, is a welcome change from the uncertainty and threats of separation that have hung over this family, so and many others, in the past.”

In a statement, Pelosi called the deferred action a “positive resolution of Anthony’s immigration petition” and a “personal victory” for Makk and Wells.

“Anthony would have faced deportation because of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, even though he has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, has no criminal history, has never lived here illegally and is the primary caregiver to his husband,” Pelosi said. “The Obama Administration’s recent efforts to prioritize immigration enforcement for the removal of criminals and others who pose a threat to national security helped pave the way for today’s good news.”

Pelosi wasn’t the only lawmaker who helped. Wells said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and gay State Sen. Mark Leno, who represents San Francisco in the California Legislature, also had roles in pressuring the U.S. government to allow his partner to remain in the United States.

Even though USCIS has taken action, Wells said he isn’t sure whether the remedy will be enough because Makk is unable to leave the country under his current status.

“”I know that Anthony cannot leave the country and come back,” Wells said. “That’s something that still worries me. If something should happen to a family member in Australia, if one of his relatives dies, or if one his relatives gets really sick, he will not be able to go back to his family there.”

Immigration Equality’s Ralls said the administration can take further action to protect other bi-national gay couples in similar situations to Wells and Makk.

“While the best solution remains a policy that would provide lesbian and gay spouses, just like straight spoues, an opportunity to obtain a green card, this action is significant nonetheless,” Ralls said. “Moving forward, it should be repeated for other couples until DOMA is repealed or UAFA is law.”