Sen. Kerry working to reunite married gay couple separated by immigration problems

[rox63]

Press release from Kerry's office, about his request that AG Holder review this case:

Kerry Asks Attorney General Holder to Reunite Haverhill Couple

BOSTON – Senator John Kerry sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder today, urging him to allow a Haverhill man to return to the United States.

Tim Coco and Genesio Oliveira were married in 2005. Two years later, Oliveira was forced to return to his native Brazil because of his expired immigration status. Oliveira had previously applied for asylum because of the brutal treatment he suffered at the hands of the government while living in Brazil.

Immigration laws allow spouses of American citizens to obtain legal permanent residency. Coco and Oliveira are legally married under Massachusetts law, but federal law does not recognize their marriage, so when Oliveira’s asylum request was unjustly denied he was forced to leave his husband.

“Tim and Junior have played by the rules since day one. Junior’s asylum claim is a legitimate one and has been recognized as such, which is why I am asking the Attorney General to come down on the side of fairness, justice, and compassion and allow Mr. Oliveira to return home to Massachusetts to his husband,” said Senator Kerry.


The text of the letter is as follows:


The Honorable
Eric Holder
United States Attorney General
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Mr. Attorney General,

I’m writing on behalf of one of my constituents, Tim Coco of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Tim, and Genesio “Junior” Januario Oliveira, Jr., were married in Massachusetts in March 2005. However, since August 2007 they have been separated because of Junior’s immigration status. It is for that reason that I look to you for assistance. Under your discretion as Attorney General I ask that you review Junior’s case and if you deem it appropriate, overrule the lower immigration court’s ruling and allow Junior to return to the United States under his original asylum claim.

Junior applied for asylum in 2002 under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, based on a brutal rape and attack he suffered at the hands of government officials in his home country of Brazil. Even though presiding Immigration Judge Francis Cramer, stated that he found Junior’s testimony to be “credible” and his fear of Brazil “genuine” he denied the asylum claim and ruled that Junior “was never physically harmed” by the rape. This outrageous claim was allowed to stand when in June 2007 the Immigration Board of Appeals upheld Judge Cramer’s decision. Junior voluntarily left the United States following this ruling and has been separated from his husband ever since.

The injustice of the initial denial of Junior’s asylum claim continues to this day. Tim had to suffer the loss of his mother recently without his husband and Junior was unable to get a visa to attend the funeral of his mother in law. I hope that you will review this case and determine that the denial of Junior’s asylum claim was in error and let him return to this country. If you have any questions about Tim and Junior’s case please contact my staff at 202-224-2742. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you for your consideration.


Sincerely,

John Kerry

[coffeenap]

1. Oh, imagine where we might be if we had made him president. nt

[tbyg52]

3. And I'm one of the conspiracy theorists who thinks we *did*.... ;->

:hi:

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

4. I don't think it's a conspiracy if what you're saying is true & I agree with you

[blm]

5. 'we' did....McAuliffe DNC kept certain state parties in collapse for entire 4yrs after 2000s theft

as he had no interest in defeating the GOP and Bush in 2002 and 2004. The GOP increased their control of every level of the election process where the votes are allowed, cast and counted in the four years of McAuliffe's stewardship of the DNC. 2004's vote was allowed to be stolen in the years before election day.

[MADem]

2. The crux of the matter, illustrated.

Now, if Junior had only just prayed away the gay and married Tim's SISTER, he'd still be here, Peeeeer-AAAAYYYYYYYz JAY-sus!

It's why "letting the states do it" won't work by itself.

[enigmatic]

6. John Kerry is a good man

:thumbsup:

[starroute]

7. Glenn Greenwald wrote about this issue at length on Monday

He's in a similar situation -- though, as he explains, he does have more options than the person on whose behalf Kerry is appealing.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/16/immigration/index.html

This is an issue that directly and personally affects me: my partner is Brazilian and unable to get a visa to live in the U.S., which means our only option for living together is to live in Brazil, as that country (like many civilized Western countries, but unlike the U.S.) issues permanent visas to the same-sex partners of their citizens. For that reason, I tend not write about this issue, because that sort of direct investment can preclude dispassionate analysis. But just consider how grave is the injustice imposed by the current state of American law in this regard.

American citizens who marry a foreign national of the opposite sex are entitled to receive, more or less automatically, a Green Card for their spouse so they can live together in the United States. By rather stark contrast, gay American citizens who enter into a spousal relationship with a foreign national have (at most) two legal choices, both horrible:

(1) Live in the U.S., but remain permanently separated -- by oceans and continents -- from the person with whom they want to share their life; or

(2) Live together with one’s spouse in the spouse’s country, but be prevented from living in one’s own country.

As horrible as those two choices are, those who at least have that choice are, relatively speaking, quite lucky. Many gay Americans in a relationship with a foreign national don’t even have option (2) available, either because their spouse’s country also doesn’t extend immigration rights to same-sex couples and/or because they’re unable to earn a living while residing outside of the U.S.

[karynnj]

8. I hope that legislation is written to change this situation - it is completely wrong

There is no excuse for making life so difficult for people in this situation.