PRIDE

Gay Couples Get Deportation Reprieve

Part of program to lessen low-priority cases.

In a rare step forward for both gay and immigrant rights, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday it’s planning a new policy that will allow illegal immigrants who have same-sex partners to have their deportations put on hold. “It will mark the very first time that lesbian and gay couples have been recognized with immigration policy for relief,” said a spokesman for Immigration Equality. The policy is part of a federal movement to unload resources from low-priority deportation cases. There is, however, a major caveat: the policy will not allow foreigners in same-sex marriages to become eligible for green cards or citizenship, the way spouses of citizens of the opposite sex are.