Holder Attempts to Stop DOMA Deportation

Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider the deportation of a gay man who entered into a civil union with his American partner.

Holder's filing was related to application of Paul Wilson Dorman to remain in the United States with his partner, Metro Weekly reports. The board ruled that because of the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, unions, or partnerships authorized by a state, Dorman would have to return to his country of origin. However, Holder asked the board to vacate their earlier ruling, and allow him to personally review this particular case.

Eric Berndt, an attorney for the National Asylum Partnership on Sexual Minorities at the National Immigrant Justice Center, told Metro Weekly that Holder's move to vacate the board's decision is "an extraordinary step." He added, "It adds some heft to our requests for prosecutorial discretion in individual cases in which the foreign partner" in a same-sex binational couple is seeking a green card because of his or her citizen partner.