A Brazilian man was reunited with his Massachusetts husband this week after U.S. Sen. John Kerry pressed federal officials to temporarily allow the 31-year-old gay man back into the country on humanitarian grounds.
Brazilian-born Genesio "Junior" Oliveira rejoined Tim Coco, 49, of Haverhill, at an emotional reunion at Boston's Logan International Airport.
Gay rights and immigrant advocates declared the case a rare victory for gay, married asylum seekers.
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Brazilian Man and Massachusetts Husband Rejoin in Asylum Case
Posted by
USABound 705 days ago
(http://www.CNSNews.com)
US senator help Brazilian man reunite with his American husband
Posted by
USABound 705 days ago
(http://www.canadaeast.com)
A Brazilian man was reunited with his American husband this week after a U.S. senator pressed federal officials to temporarily allow the gay man back into the country on humanitarian grounds.
Nearly three years ago, the couple split when Oliveira was forced to return to Brazil after being denied permanent residency in the U.S. because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages.
The pair maintained contact through online video chats and sporadic visits during holidays.
The case gained international attention from gay rights and immigrant advocates who criticized U.S. officials for separating the couple even though they were legally married.
Nearly three years ago, the couple split when Oliveira was forced to return to Brazil after being denied permanent residency in the U.S. because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages.
The pair maintained contact through online video chats and sporadic visits during holidays.
The case gained international attention from gay rights and immigrant advocates who criticized U.S. officials for separating the couple even though they were legally married.
To a mayor from a mayor in exile (Love Exiles)
Posted by
igualdad 901 days ago
(http://loveexiles.wordpress.com)
Love Exiles. Passionate about equality of binational gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families. December 6, 2009. To a mayor from a mayor in exile. Posted by loveexiles under equal rights for families · Leave a Comment ...
Massachusetts man says Brazilian husband denied US asylum
Posted by
OneVoice 931 days ago
(http://www.bradenton.com)
A gay Brazilian man has been denied asylum by the Obama administration and won't be reunited with his Massachusetts husband in the U.S., the husband said Monday.
Tim Coco said Attorney General Eric Holder did not act on a Friday deadline in the case of Genesio "Junior" Oliveira, effectively denying the 30-year-old Brazilian man's request for asylum in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.
"We needed the Attorney General to make a decision on whether Junior could come home," said Coco, 48, of Haverhill. "He didn't take this request seriously."
Tim Coco said Attorney General Eric Holder did not act on a Friday deadline in the case of Genesio "Junior" Oliveira, effectively denying the 30-year-old Brazilian man's request for asylum in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.
"We needed the Attorney General to make a decision on whether Junior could come home," said Coco, 48, of Haverhill. "He didn't take this request seriously."
Washington man gets 18 months in gay immigration fraud
Posted by
Fight4theRight 942 days ago
(http://www.thenewstribune.com)
A man accused of advising straight immigrants to claim homosexuality - and potential persecution in their home countries - when they applied for asylum has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Steven Mahoney held himself out as an expert in immigration affairs and ran Mahoney and Associates in Kent, which advised immigrants on how to stay in the U.S. He pleaded guilty in April, acknowledging that between 1998 and 2007 he filed as many as 99 false immigration documents and was paid between $1,000 and $4,000 for each.
In addition to false claims of homosexuality, he advised some clients to claim they could be tortured due to their religious practices or political views.
His ex-wife, Helen Mahoney, was sentenced to six months. Both are naturalized U.S. citizens from Russia.
Steven Mahoney held himself out as an expert in immigration affairs and ran Mahoney and Associates in Kent, which advised immigrants on how to stay in the U.S. He pleaded guilty in April, acknowledging that between 1998 and 2007 he filed as many as 99 false immigration documents and was paid between $1,000 and $4,000 for each.
In addition to false claims of homosexuality, he advised some clients to claim they could be tortured due to their religious practices or political views.
His ex-wife, Helen Mahoney, was sentenced to six months. Both are naturalized U.S. citizens from Russia.
Gay Man Testifies On Immigration Reform
Posted by
OurHero-Tan 942 days ago
(http://www.advocate.com)
A congressional briefing held Friday to discuss immigration reform included five witnesses, one of whom was a gay man testifying about the struggles faced by binational LGBT couples.
Steve Orner of Washington, D.C., said goodbye on Wednesday to his partner of nearly 10 years, “Joe Smith” -- who asked that we not use his real name -- when Smith left to return to his native Indonesia.
“I'm scared to go back,” Smith said by phone on the day of his departure. “This is my home; I have been living here for half of my life.”... For now, the two have determined that living separately is their only option since they would have to be closeted in Indonesia and Orner would not be employable there.
Steve Orner of Washington, D.C., said goodbye on Wednesday to his partner of nearly 10 years, “Joe Smith” -- who asked that we not use his real name -- when Smith left to return to his native Indonesia.
“I'm scared to go back,” Smith said by phone on the day of his departure. “This is my home; I have been living here for half of my life.”... For now, the two have determined that living separately is their only option since they would have to be closeted in Indonesia and Orner would not be employable there.
Gay former mayor finds acceptance in Texas
Posted by
JesSEA 993 days ago
(http://www.gaypolitics.com)
In politics, love can be problematic. (Just ask South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.) Add being openly gay to the mix and problems can become scandals. But something odd happened when the mayor of San Angelo, Texas followed his gay heart.
J. W. Lown absconded to Mexico to be with his same-sex lover, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. But where one would have expected to find fiery outrage, there was a surprsing calm, according to Texas Monthly....
J. W. Lown absconded to Mexico to be with his same-sex lover, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. But where one would have expected to find fiery outrage, there was a surprsing calm, according to Texas Monthly....
It’s not as if gaining marriage equality in California makes everything equal for same-sex couples. We’ve still got DOMA—the Defense of Marriage Act—to contend with, and that’s a big problem. Our agenda is to repeal DOMA. So basically, while Courage Campaign and Marriage Equality USA are focusing here in California on repealing [Proposition] 8, our agenda is about repealing DOMA at the federal level.
I think that most same-sex couples don’t recognize how serious the effects of DOMA are until they become married, and then all of a sudden, it’s real. What we’ve found, over the last seven months, is that ...
I think that most same-sex couples don’t recognize how serious the effects of DOMA are until they become married, and then all of a sudden, it’s real. What we’ve found, over the last seven months, is that ...
Mayors move not thought out (San Angelo Standard Times)
Posted by
USABound 1078 days ago
(http://www.gosanangelo.com)
As details about J.W. Lown’s predicament emerge, it becomes clearer that the former mayor showed extraordinarily poor judgment in the decisions he made in resigning suddenly and relocating to Mexico with his partner.
The effects on San Angelo have been considered fully since his departure on May 19, the day he was to be sworn in for his fourth term. More recently it has become evident that the impulsiveness of his actions — which were out of character for San Angelo’s youngest mayor — adversely affected his own future. Even after Lown made public that his partner was here illegally, the process of deporting the man might have taken years. At any rate, immigration lawyers say he would have been in a better position for applying for legal status from here than from Mexico.
According to an immigration lawyer who commented for a story in Sunday’s Standard-Times, t
The effects on San Angelo have been considered fully since his departure on May 19, the day he was to be sworn in for his fourth term. More recently it has become evident that the impulsiveness of his actions — which were out of character for San Angelo’s youngest mayor — adversely affected his own future. Even after Lown made public that his partner was here illegally, the process of deporting the man might have taken years. At any rate, immigration lawyers say he would have been in a better position for applying for legal status from here than from Mexico.
According to an immigration lawyer who commented for a story in Sunday’s Standard-Times, t
AP - In this Saturday, May 9, 2009, photo San Angelo Mayor J.W. Lown greets arriving supporters to his election party at the Old Chicken Farm Art Center in San Angelo,Texas. Lown resigned suddenly May 19 and offered a stunning explanation: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.
The mayor of this West Texas sheep ranching town offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.
They had to move, he said, because there was no legal way for them to remain together in the United States.
"It wasn't a decision that any U.S. citizen should have to make," former Mayor J.W. Lown said in an interview from Mexico. "I left a home. I left a ranch. I left a promising political career."
His local prominence and his run for the border on the day h
The mayor of this West Texas sheep ranching town offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.
They had to move, he said, because there was no legal way for them to remain together in the United States.
"It wasn't a decision that any U.S. citizen should have to make," former Mayor J.W. Lown said in an interview from Mexico. "I left a home. I left a ranch. I left a promising political career."
His local prominence and his run for the border on the day h
Speaking from Mexico, the former mayor of San Angelo, TX, Joseph W. Lown, said earlier this week he supports the Uniting American Families Act that would allow American citizens and legal immigrants to seek residency in the United States for their same-sex partners, the same as straight American citizens can now petition for foreign-born husbands and wives.
Lown resigned as San Angelo’s mayor after serving six years in that position and moved to Mexico so he and his long-term partner could legally remain together.
Lown resigned as San Angelo’s mayor after serving six years in that position and moved to Mexico so he and his long-term partner could legally remain together.
Former San Angelo Mayor J.W. Lown resigned earlier this month in order to live with his partner in Mexico. Unlike a heterosexual couple who could resolve these dilemmas through marriage, same-sex couples simply do not have that option. "Our families are constantly faced with that kind of horrible decision; to give up their lives in the [United States] or give up their partner," she said.
"It’s really a matter of fundamental fairness," Neilson said. "The immigration system is centered on the family unity, but the government fails to recognize our families."
Although a few states acknowledge the relationships of same-sex couples through marriage and civil unions, federal law, which does not extend this recognition, forbids gays and lesbians to sponsor their undocumented spouse to legally immigrate into the country.
"You still have conflict with the feder
"It’s really a matter of fundamental fairness," Neilson said. "The immigration system is centered on the family unity, but the government fails to recognize our families."
Although a few states acknowledge the relationships of same-sex couples through marriage and civil unions, federal law, which does not extend this recognition, forbids gays and lesbians to sponsor their undocumented spouse to legally immigrate into the country.
"You still have conflict with the feder
Gay Mayor Takes on Immigration
Posted by
BinatUK 1094 days ago
(http://likeawhisper.wordpress.com)
f U.S. marriage policies extended to all consenting adults and U.S. immigration policy included the right for gay families to petition for their loved ones, Lown and his partner would not have had to leave the U.S. Were our laws set up to honor loving partnerships between consenting adults regardless of gender or sexuality, they could have made a legal commitment to one another that reflected their emotional one; that commitment would have extended the rights of citizenship accordingly. There is no telling how many immigrants and bi-national families have left this country because of these unequal standards.
While Lown and his partner’s plan should garner him a visa to re-enter, as long as no one puts a hold on his application for staying beyond the terms of his original education visa, visas are temporary. And U.S immigration policy continues to exclude queer families eve
While Lown and his partner’s plan should garner him a visa to re-enter, as long as no one puts a hold on his application for staying beyond the terms of his original education visa, visas are temporary. And U.S immigration policy continues to exclude queer families eve
JW Lown Popular Texas Mayor Resigns For Gay Immigrant Lover
Posted by
Fight4theRight 1097 days ago
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
UAFA- Uniting Immigration Act cannot come fast enough. See how you can get involved. This has nothing to do with marriage equality - at this point - the quicker route to immigration equality is the passage of UAFA. ...
Gay West Texas Mayor Quits Chooses Foreign Partner Over His Job
Posted by
Fight4theRight 1099 days ago
(http://www.towleroad.com)
It highlights the urgent need to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) when Obama tackles immigration reform. There are thousands of gay Americans who have foreign-born partners but because of DOMA and current policies they can ...
“How may I assist with these stories, if at all?...”
“My question back to you is how do we get immigration reform defined as a...”
“Watch the actual video on ABC 7's website, and you'll see that he's really...”
“Thanks. I shortened it through tinyurl. Works now....”
“Note from imeQ about this editorial: This is an independent project which...”
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Promoting public awareness of the need for fairness in immigration policy particularly as it relates to the rights of same-sex bi-national couples in the United States who seek equal immigration rights; Providing information regarding political issues relating to gay immigration equality issues, rights and policy.