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Originally Posted by Julie
I am really confused. What does this ACTUALLY mean?
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It is breaking news because The Attorney General has intervened in a specific case and urged the immigration authority to reconsider its deportation decision.
For a legal figure, so high in stature, to intervene and take a very public stand - it is a sign of a major shift in thinking on this issue, from the highest echelon of the government.
This could be a sign that legal change will come on the immigration front regardless of the outcome of DOMA battle.
The Attorney General cites their
civil union as just grounds to stay the deportation, civil unions do not have legal parity with marriage; which means that the Attorney General's is urging the Immigration Authority to expand it's definition of family. Which could also be indicative that there is some sense of inevitability to repealing DOMA *or* it could indicate that the administration is willing to tackle LGBT rights one piece at a time. And it is a strong indicator that legal change as regards same-sex immigration could happen before DOMA is repealed or more states in the US offer same-sex marriage.
And of course, it means one couple (maybe even a whole lot of couples) could be given another reprieve from the deportation chopping block, in the interim while this potentially huge political shift become legitimized.