An Immigrant Gets His Bud Saved By Gay Marriage
A gay Costa Rican immigrant has been saved from deportation because of his marriage to an American man
Last week, David Gonzalez, a gay Costa Rican immigrant was saved from deportation due to his marriage to US citizen, Mario Ramirez.
The pair were married in California during the brief period that same-sex marriage was legal in 2006 and then moved to Texas. On Thursday, the Houston immigration judge ended the deportation proceedings against Gonzalez due to this fact.
Although there have been similar actions involving married gay binational couples in California, New Jersey and other American states, it is believed to be the first of its kind in Texas.
In talks to The Houston Chronicle, Immigration Equality spokesman Steve Ralls expressed his joy: “It's great news. It's consistent with similar actions we are seeing in other cases with lesbian and gay couples.”
However, immigrants who are in same-sex couples still have difficulty gaining work permits. According to reports, Gonzales has no legal right to work in America.
“It is definitely good news that the administration is beginning to drop deportation proceedings, but now the individuals who are spared from deportation need to be able to receive that legal recognition that is so important as they continue to build a life here with their US citizen partners,” Ralls explained.
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