A few days ago, I read that one of the representatives in the House is calling for a halt to deportations of foreign same sex spouses, but only for states where marriage is legally recognized. This resulted in me having a complete meltdown. Like, hysterical crying kind of a melt down. Then I took a bath and I felt a little a better.
From The Advocate:
Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, who said last week that he would reintroduce a bill to repeal DOMA, told The Advocate that while the administration has made clear that it would continue to enforce the law, “If it’s the case of a legally married couple under the laws of a state or the District of Columbia, the administration ought to argue in court not to deport them.”
My first thought was, so close and yet so far. And my second thought was, "Screw you, California." For three years now, it's seemed that DOMA was standing in the way of my being able to sponsor my partner for immigration, and now it may return in a vicious cycle back to Prop 8.
In other news, in a bizarre twist of tax law, my California domestic partnership now confers upon me the property benefits of marriage in the eyes of IRS, but I still have to file as single. "We recognize that you have the same property rights as married couples, but we won't use that word." It's a little bizarre that they would confer partial rights under one set of laws and deny all rights under another. It does not make complete sense to me why they are able to recognize my partnership for tax purposes but will not under immigration law.
I can only speculate that it comes down to a difference in the practice and application of different areas of law. When it comes to tax law, it seems that mostly the state guides the federal government. When it comes to immigration, the federal government will fight tooth and nail to maintain their control.
But am I wrong in asking that there be some kind of consistency? If we are for all intents and purposes "married" in the eyes of the IRS, why aren't we married according to DHS?
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