Tag Archives: DOMA

DHS Moves Toward Accepting Same-Sex Relationships In the Immigration Context

BY PAULINA VALANTY — The Department of Homeland Security announced last fall that it would start considering same-sex partners as family for removal purposes. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the policy shift in a letter, stating that DHS will issue guidelines to its field officers clarifying the term “family relationships” to include “long-term, same-sex partners” […]

2nd Circuit Decision Tees Up Potential Same-Sex Marriage SCOTUS Blockbuster

BY ZACH LUDENS — In a decision to be reviewed by United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last month found a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) unconstitutional in Windsor v. United States. DOMA, enacted in the face of the 1996 U.S. Presidential election, defined the terms marriage […]