Sexuality, Migration, and the Shifting Line Between Legal and Illegal Status

This article, which recounts the hardships of gay couples trying to get permanent residence or citizenship for one partner, something that is not accounted for in immigration laws which say that the spouse of a citizen may become a citizen him or herself. Because the gay couples are not recognized as being legally married, they are not allowed the privileges of that status. This does not just pertain to immigration laws and their inability to properly address all forms of marriage, but the fact that gay marriage is still a contentious issue that has many people on either side of it. If the immigration laws let gay partners become citizens as well, they would be leaping forward ahead of many state laws in implying that gay marriages are on equal ground with heterosexual marriages, which would bring up a lot of opposition and anger. Thus, in order to address this issue, the country has to first decide what its stance on gay marriage is.

Although familiar with the immigration issues in this country, it never occurred to me that people in gay partnerships or marriages would be affected in such a way, that they would not be allowed the privileges that heterosexual couples have just because they happen to consist of a man and a woman. I believe that more awareness of this issue is important as the first step of addressing this concern and sort of gaping hole that the immigration laws do not touch upon.