An undocumented gay Irishman, Paul Wilson Dorman, is at the center of a major battle by the Obama administration to set aside the Defense of Marriage Act which states that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
Attorney General Eric Holder has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to set aside their ruling deporting Dorman to Ireland under the act on the basis that the act is now being challenged in court and may be set aside.
His actions have once again put the issue of gay marriage and whether it can be acknowledged legally in America back on the front pages.
Dorman has lived illegally in New Jersey where he has a civil partnership with another gay man. He was liable for deportation after his undocumented status was discovered.
Now however, in an extraordinary move, Holder has halted the deportation and asked the The Board of Immigration Appeals judges to reconsider the case and judge whether Dorman can be considered a spouse of an American citizen or if there are other extenuating circumstances to keep him in America.
The Obama administration stated in February that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court and this is the first step in that process.
Dorman and his partner had already decided to take their case to a federal appeals court because they believed the decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals was based on the Defense of Marriage Act which they believe is unconstitutional.
The fact that the Obama administration has now jumped in on their side is seen as highly significant.
People who are facing deportation can ask immigration judges let them stay in the U.S.
Lavi Soloway, a New York immigration attorney and founder of Immigration Equality, a group that advocates for the immigration rights of gay couples told the Associated Press the Dorman decisions is long overdue because there is clear discrimination against gay couples on immigration issues because spouses legally marriesdby law in several states cannot sponsor their partners
"This is the right path. Until Congress can pass legislation to remedy this, the executive branch can and should act," Soloway said.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Seanmor | Oct 13, 2012, 02:46 PM EDT
Collie, I'm not so sure that there were NO restriction on immigrants from Ireland and Grmany when your grandpaents came here. Before I got muy visa in Dublin in the late '50s, I needed to have sponsor, pass a very stringent physical exam, prove that I didn't have a police record and agree to register with the Draft Board and serve in the military. Yes, I too had 'tenants' in my 5-roomed apt, all of whom had served in the U.S. Army as Irish citizens and would later marry and have children. That was after I had served 4 years in the Marine Corps.
Colliegirl | May 09, 2011, 11:26 PM EDT
The way the law is now, an illegal alien taxpaying Guatemalan man, married to an American woman, who has been in the country for ten years and has a home and children here can be deported and has no legal way to remain or return. But an illegal Irish man who is living with another guy can stay?? What kind of justice is that? But in response to JudyStinger, my grandparents who came from Ireland and Germany did so legally too. But there were very few restrictions then. Today, there is NO WAY to do it legally for many good people, no quotas, no waiting lists to get on. If you have lots of money and are a doctor or computer scientist maybe they'll let you in. But if you're a poor hard working young Hispanic man or woman, forget it. Maiamar, I don't have an interest in the sex life of homosexual partners, but calling it marriage doesn't make it so. They have the same rights as any other American. My same sex roommate and I live in the same house. We're not married. If we started having sex does that give us rights we didn't have before? Can we lie and say we're having sex and get some tax breaks or some other 'rights' we don't already have? This just doesn't make sense.
JudyStinger | May 09, 2011, 05:45 PM EDT
My Grandparents came from Scotland, Ireland and Germany and went through the legal process of this country. This is the Attorney General of the United States and he circumvents the law???????
Maiamar | May 09, 2011, 11:26 AM EDT
Yeesh!!! I can't believe the amount of hate and religious crap being spewed on this. I ask you, HOW is someone's gay marriage going to personally affect you? Will your marriage fall apart simply because another couple marries? Everyone who supports DOMA seriously needs to get a life and get out of other peoples' bedrooms. You are spending WAY too much time worrying about what others are doing sexually. Clean up your own yard. . .
Advocate | May 09, 2011, 10:57 AM EDT
Anti-American Socialists, Holder and the Obamaination have NO lawful authority to REFUSE enforcement of existing Federal Law! None at all! Therefore they MUST be prosecuted immediately! They have NO lawful authority to enter their personal opinions regarding enforcement issues; the Law is the law! This is just another part of our demise into complete Moral Bankruptcy! Furthermore, these two MEN can NEVER, nor will they ever be, 'married!' Simple definition of the terms 'married, marriage, Etc., etc." will clearly establish this as FACT! Call their relationship (sic), what you will, but marriage, NEVER! Marriage is a plan and design of Yahweh/God; His definition, not yours, nor mine! Thus, is seems obvious that His opinion is the ONLY one that matters. No Rule or law of man can change the definition of something --- PERIOD! We the SHEEPle are paying a big price to obtain the status of: "Moral Bankruptcy."
JackFknTwist | May 09, 2011, 02:41 AM EDT
@John5319 : "EVIL" as you call it, simply does not exist. People do bad things.......so start taking person responsibility... As for "sovereignty".....that is exclusively from the people.......Remember "We the people........" Not "We God......"
John5319 | May 09, 2011, 12:18 AM EDT
A NATION is defined by it's borders isn't it ???? So then why is the issue of an individual's SOVEREIGN choice brought up at all ??? Because the elite "political class" of leftists desire to create a moral CHAOS in line with the Saul ALisnky mantra of destruction "from within". Look at the bigger picture of the divisiveness at play here . . . it is the PLAN . . . to use Evil intentions to create that chaos, and it's MOTIVE to manipulate the ignorant (not knowing) for the "means to an end".... an EVIL end. There is the answer as to WHY all this is happening. Evil motives = Evil results = the destruction of Sovereignty, that sovereignty which is given NOT by Government .... but by God !!
hollabackgurl | May 08, 2011, 09:34 PM EDT
By the way the majority of these couples came here legally and are in status. They are being denied green cards based on their marriages - whilst heterosexual couples are granted green cards for their marriages. That unfairness has to end.
hollabackgurl | May 08, 2011, 09:31 PM EDT
Actually there are civil unions and/or marriage equality for gay people in most of the developed nations of the world already, including Ireland. The administration has said that the equal protection clause states that gay that DOMA is clearly unconstitutional. Any true patriot or conservative who isn't a blatant hypocrite has to admit that. America is behind the times on this issue and it serves no good to deport gay partners who are legally wed here or elsewhere. It's discrimination and its un-American.
Woodman | May 08, 2011, 09:09 PM EDT
Like it or not there is no such thing as "gay marriage" under Federal law. Some states allow it but it's not clear if these marriage are recognized in states that don't allow it, So the US Attorney General is refusing to enforce the law because Obama disagrees with it? Has Obama declared himself a king now, who rules by fiat?
DaveyBoy | May 08, 2011, 08:07 PM EDT
They have to let him stay if Onama is truly a human being with a heart. The government needs to keep him here and go after the millions of illegal mexicans in California who have taken jobs or are living out here and treating this state like mexico and throwing trash in the streets on other peoples yards and Let the Irish immigrants get citizenship right away.
PhlutiePhan | May 08, 2011, 07:43 PM EDT
The real fact is that there are laws on the books in regard to an illegal immigrant "hiding in marriage". This would be an illegal marriage and liable for deportation. It was common in the past for illegals to pay for someone to marry and illegally enter the U.S. Therefore, this is not necessarily a "marriage" issue. It is a "con" to stay in the United States illegally.
JackFknTwist | May 08, 2011, 07:31 PM EDT
@edmicca : the name is from a movie.......doubt you've seen it !
JackFknTwist | May 08, 2011, 07:29 PM EDT
@eiriamach: you got it right........Irish catholics, GET OUT MORE !
JackFknTwist | May 08, 2011, 07:27 PM EDT
@edmicca: your use of the phrase "gay lifestyle" shows just how stupid you are. @katieherk: no, marriage is for everyone, if they choose it, it is a civil right, not a religious one. If you want a religious marriage go to a church......there are lots of them......but don't deny the rights of others just because of your religious beliefs.
mayoman | May 08, 2011, 07:04 PM EDT
I applaud President Obama and Attorney General Holder for taking the morally correct action. Hopefully the DOMA will be soon be only a bad memory.
ohrightyeah | May 08, 2011, 06:52 PM EDT
The hate spewed by so may readers of this site makes me embarrassed to be Irish. Nearly every topic has spiteful comments. It's really turning me off reading things on this site. How can people get so entrenched in their narrowmindedness?
eiriamach | May 08, 2011, 06:34 PM EDT
edmicca, why aren't you doing what you say Christ did and accepting gays as equals, with full civil rights, the same rights you have? You would still be free to disapprove of homosexual behavior, just as Christ disapproved of adultery. No one would ever force it on you, so what's your problem with allowing others to have as much freedom as you have?
Blackduck | May 08, 2011, 06:30 PM EDT
Next someone will want to be able to marry his or her dog, or goat. What have we sunk to? The only reason the Constitution doesn’t say that a marriage has to between a man and women, is our founders never thought anyone would want to marry someone of the same sex!
edmicca | May 08, 2011, 05:44 PM EDT
JackFknTwist - nice name. Best you could do? Ever notice that the more f-bombs people use in their speech, the less substance their speech has? "Homophobic" is a socially engineered word designed to create a false divide on the moral issue of homosexuality. There's a difference between accepting gays as people and accepting a lifestyle many consider immoral. Christ accepted the woman caught in adultery but he didn't accept how she lived. Was he a bigot? Hardly, and neither are those who say the gay lifestyle is wrong.
eiriamach | May 08, 2011, 05:14 PM EDT
Some posters may be asking where American homophobia comes from. According to a Sept. 2010 Pew Forum/ Pew Research Center report, 60% of Americans who oppose same-sex marriage said that religion was the most important influence on their opinion, while only 5% of those who support same-sex marriage reported religion as most important. Only 6% of people who say that religion has the most influence on their opinions support same-sex marriage, while two-thirds (66%) of those who say that personal experience, education, or the opinions of family or friends are their most important influence support same-sex marriage. It seems that people who know gays and lesbians do not see any reason why they should not be free to marry! And plenty of these supporters are churchgoers. Nearly half of all white Catholics support same-sex marriage (49%), and this figure outpaces even white main-line Protestants (48%). So why do so many IC posters seem opposed to same-sex marriage? Maybe what's showing up in the postings below is a lack of education, not enough friends, or no experience of life outside of church? Maybe these "Americans" should get out and meet some real people!
katieherk | May 08, 2011, 04:46 PM EDT
Shows you what a nut case Nobama is.... marriage is between one man and one woman but he's so stupid he can't understand why!! And, Niall, quit writing such trashy columns. I used to have great respect for you but all this trash you're bringing up belongs in the tabloids not Irish Central. It's getting so that I hate to read it anymore.
sully1167 | May 08, 2011, 04:16 PM EDT
Bring Mr. Dorman back to Ireland,trade Ibrahim Buswisir to the US in return!
JackFknTwist | May 08, 2011, 03:18 PM EDT
@edmicca : I may be fast with my mouth but at least I have the integrity to express clear liberal Irish opinions which are not the homophobic s**t that appears below. You, of course, say f -all !
edmicca | May 08, 2011, 03:03 PM EDT
It's pretty clear that CupcakeJackFknTwist is fast with the mouth and short on brains, living proof that dumbness hasn't been stamped out in America.
JackFknTwist | May 08, 2011, 02:03 PM EDT
The USA is obliged to give full equal rights to all persons......."We hold these truths to be self evident....." Obviously these truths are not evident at all to you illiterate homophobes......... All we read here is scum droppings by maggots such as eireinamerica... All spouses of American citizens should be allowed immediate unhindered comprehensive rights to live with their spouse......and yes, spouse includes Civil Unions/Partnerships. Let's move towards a liberal tolerant society and get away from the Joseph McCarthy idiots writing their fetid bigotry on these pages. These people are not representative of anything Irish....they disgrace the name of Ireland.....they are quasi fascist right wing tossers. being Irish means being liberal, tolerant, and believing in full equality in marriage, adoption, employment for all persons , irrespective of race, creed, sexual orientation. So you who claim to be Irish, get with the programme.
danielleryan | May 08, 2011, 01:59 PM EDT
I cannot believe how disgusting some of these comments are. The only sick and disgusting people here are the ones leaving these vile comments about other human beings. Revolting.
JackFknTwist | May 08, 2011, 01:53 PM EDT
@erieinamerica : wow, you are such a disgrace to the Irish that I don't know where to begin! You bringing up children is a thought that makes me sick to the stomach.......clearly you are just an uneducated bigot who has no compunction (look it up) about homophobic bigoted language. You are not Irish , so change your name , you illiterate homophobic fool.
EireinAmerica | May 08, 2011, 01:12 PM EDT
This guy is an opportunist, trying to get any votes he can for four more years,..The American people need to make sure that this does not happen
jimmybb | May 08, 2011, 12:57 PM EDT
niall o dowd do u seriousally want to b known as the gutter tabloid press u are insulting reasonable people 's intelligence by trying to debatet this the liberal fundalmentasist media is to blame for a lot of problems in our society dont appease them [i.e] rupert murdochs conglomorate english dailys n ny post you r turning u site into the national enquirer as an immigrant myself from eirinn 18 yrs now i see this great u.s.a turning to mush the rest of the world is laughing at us here as we debate such petty things while china europe asia takin over the world seriousally u are a clever man dont insult our intelligence with such trivial things while our country eieinn is being financially raped by a euro elite of germany n france talk about that please ;;niall;
terryrn2 | May 08, 2011, 12:30 PM EDT
Don't you all get it? They are trying to change the law to recognize gay couples who wish to be married. IF they were legally married with all the rights and priviledges of a legally married couple then the gentleman who is trying to become a citizen would legally be allowed to do so since he is legally married. I don't know if the couple actually were married from a state that has that law? If they did get legally married in a state that recognizes gay marriage then they are a legally married couple. The constitition has provisions for the federal govt to recognize state law. Just like if a heterosexual couple were common law married by a state that has that. The federal government as well as all the 50 states would legally have to recognize the common law couple as husband and wife. So whether is is a heterosexual common law married couple or a gay married couple, the Immigration dept should recognize them and allow for the foreignor to apply for US citizenship. It is that simple! Whether you agree with gay lifestyle has absolutely nothing to do with the law! Remember seperation of church and state in the US. Do you want us to become Ireland, a country divided by religious war??? No thank you!!!
kelticbleu | May 08, 2011, 12:21 PM EDT
Trealach, you just hate blindly. Pittsburgh, gay men and women are not represented by a seperate set of laws. They are asking to have the laws that guarantee our freedoms be applied to them as well. It is not a religous or moral issue. It IS an ethical and Constitutional issue. ALL men are created equal. Not just the religous, or heterosexual.
citizen69 | May 08, 2011, 12:16 PM EDT
He should be deported regardless of his sexuality, race or religion. Illegals are cheats & law breakers by definition.
dermot.r | May 08, 2011, 12:15 PM EDT
Thank you, AG Holder and President Obama for applying the law with reason and compassion. To settle the matter forever, help pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes giving same-sex couples the same same rights as heterosexual couples to sponsor their partners/spouses. This is the fair thing to do, and fairnes is the American way.
rabrannon | May 08, 2011, 12:12 PM EDT
Obama and Holder are using this to their advantage for political points. Their real agenda is to open up our borders to ANYBODY that wants to come in, gay or not. We already have immigration laws that are not being followed, so what's the point? Come here legally and you won't have to even deal with the gay issue.
BryanTim | May 08, 2011, 11:57 AM EDT
This here is one of legality. For not enforcing our laws, politicians should be taken into custody by the military and locked up. You people in the media have a good laugh. This mentality is gaining traction in America. Many people have just about had it with our CORRUPT government. One day the pendululum with swing in the other direction.
saintsnurse | May 08, 2011, 11:11 AM EDT
I thought America was the home of the free?? We are free to practice any life style as long as it does not break any laws. On the other hand Obama doesn't care about any couple, gay or other, he only cares about his ratings! So, Good luck to the couple, you deserve happiness but for God sake please don't vote for Obama again...our country could not take another 4 years!!!!
Pittsburghkid | May 08, 2011, 10:55 AM EDT
This is the problem. Americans are being governored by two sets of laws. Homosexual get one set of laws, while mormal people get another set of laws. Normal people are hetrosexual, and normal, because if the world were populated by Homosexual, then the human race would not reproduce.
antoman | May 08, 2011, 08:25 AM EDT
Whats the point of going to America to better one's situation and in the process make America a better place if you can't meet and fall in love with an American woman and have a 6-8 wee capitalists with her?
HoundofUlster | May 08, 2011, 04:46 AM EDT
Great. About time. Love plus love = love. Congratulations to sanity.