Being married to an American man thwarted the deportation of a Costa Rica native in Texas—the nation’s first ruling of the kind. An immigration judge in Houston ended David Gonzalez‘s deportation process Thursday, according to The Advocate.
Gonzalez married U.S. citizen Mario Ramirez in California in 2008, before moving to Texas. Same-sex marriages were legally recognized in the Golden State at the time, since Proposition 8 hadn’t yet been repealed.
The Houston Chronicle noted it was the first Texas deportation case to end in a reprieve. Similar cases have involved same-sex bi-national couples in California, New Jersey, as well as other states.
“Its great news,” Immigration Equality spokesman Steve Ralls told the paper. “It’s consistent with similar actions we are seeing in other cases with lesbian and gay couples.”
The Obama administration has changed immigration law enforcement. An immigrant’s relationship can be considered in deportation issues.
Photo: theadvocate.com
