STOP THE DEPORTATIONS THE DOMA PROJECT: Love in the Time of Deportation: After 8 Years Together, Edwin & Rodrigo Have Five Days Left to Save Their Marriage

Friday, March 4, 2011

Love in the Time of Deportation: After 8 Years Together, Edwin & Rodrigo Have Five Days Left to Save Their Marriage

Edwin Echegoyen and Ricardo Martinez were married
by Professor Ed Ingebretsen on March 1, 2011
Ingebretsen was ordained as a Jesuit Priest in 1981
and is outspoken on issues of religion and culture.

Edwin Echegoyen and Rodrigo Martinez were married on the promenade outside the D.C. Superior Court on March 1 before a group of two dozen friends, family and co-workers. Immediately after the ceremony, Edwin, an American citizen, filed an I-130 Alien Relative Petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting a "green card" for his spouse, who is a citizen of El Salvador.

After 8 years together, Edwin and Rodrigo have only five days left to stop the Department of Homeland Security from executing a deportation. Rodrigo has been ordered to surrender himself to the custody of DHS on Wednesday March 9. (Read more about Edwin and Rodrigo here.)

Please help us stop the deportation of Rodrigo Martinez.

Call both the DC and local offices of Edwin & Rodrigo's United States Senators:
Senator Barbara Mikulski (202) 224-4654 and (410) 962-4510
Senator Benjamin Cardin (202) 224-4524 and (301) 762-2974
Representative Chris Von Hollen (202) 225-5341 and (301) 424-3501

Ask them to contact the Department of Homeland Security Deportation Unit in the Baltimore Field Office immediately.

We only have 5 days left to stop this deportation. The information you need: RODRIGO MARTINEZ-RODRIGUEZ (File No. A 96 336 082).

In response to the Edwin & Rodrigo's case, two members of Congress this week publicly called for a halt to "DOMA Deportations" (see here and here). Please ask the Washington, DC staff of Senators Mikulski and Cardin and Congressman Chris Van Hollen to join Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Jerrold Nadler and issue a public statement calling on the the Obama administration to halt "DOMA deportations."

2 comments:

Chris B.March 4, 2011 at 12:35 PM
I just found out that the person who deals with immigrations issues in Mikulsi's DC office is out until Monday noon!
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Chris B.March 4, 2011 at 1:10 PM
Rep. Van Hollen's office in Rockville MD is where this would be handled--and the woman I spoke to there was familiar with the case and said she is on it (was transferred to her from the DC office). Have tried to impress on everyone I've spoken to how this practice of deporting our partners, and tearing holes in families, must stop!
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WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

STOP THE DEPORTATIONS is a campaign launched in October 2010 by a group of married binational couples working with attorneys Lavi Soloway and Noemi Masliah, who are founders of Immigration Equality and partners in the law firm, Masliah & Soloway. Our purpose is to raise awareness of the cruel impact of the DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT on married gay and lesbian binational couples and bring an end to that discrimination. Because the federal government denies recognition to legally married same-sex couples, they are deprived of the usual access to immigration laws that allow all other American citizens to petition for a green card for their foreign spouses.

In most cases, DOMA is the only obstacle preventing married binational couples from achieving resolution of the immigration issue. Because of DOMA, married binational couples are faced with the very real threat of being torn apart because of expiring visas or deportation orders. Many binational couples are exiled to third countries where their relationships are recognized under the law. Still others are kept apart, left to maintain a long-distance relationship on line, by phone calls and visits.

Every day in this country there are gay and lesbian Americans whose spouses face deportation proceedings. This must end. We cannot sit by while the government destroys the hopes and dreams of loving couples. Join our fight against DOMA and help bring an end discrimination against same-sex binational couples. For more information on how you can get involved email us here.

DOMA Project Participation

We invite potential DOMA project participants to contact us if they are same-sex binational couples who are married (or planning to marry) and who want to join our campaign to end discrimination in immigration law. With the exception of our DOMA Project participants, we do not encourage any married same-sex couple to file an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative as such a petition will be denied and the filing of the petition may have significant negative consequences on the foreign spouse's future eligibility for various non-immigrant visas, or precipitate removal proceedings if that person is in the United States without lawful status. Any binational couples considering marriage should consult THE DOMA PROJECT or other qualified attorney or appropriate gay rights organization to discuss the potential consequences for eligibility for non-immigrant visas and to address other immigration related concerns. To learn more about our DOMA Project, contact us here. Your story is a vital part of winning this struggle.

ADD YOUR STORY

We are actively looking for binational couples to join this campaign. Your testimonials, videos, photographs, etc. will help us put discrimination into terms that everyone can understand: its cruel impact on individual couples and families. Anyone interested in getting involved to help raise awareness of the impact of DOMA on binational couples should contact us here. All information received will be confidential. Couples who want to participate without revealing their full names or other identifying information are welcome. Binational couples who are currently in separate countries and binational couples living abroad are also welcome.