Federal authorities drop deportation case against same-sex partner

(CNN) -- Federal authorities have stopped the deportation of a gay immigrant legally married to a United States citizen.

Venezuelan Henry Velandia came to the United States almost a decade ago to dance. The 27-year-old salsa dancer met American Josh Vandiver five years ago. The New Jersey couple legally married in Connecticut less than a year ago.

In 2009, with the support of a sponsor and before his marriage, Velandia applied for a green card. But instead of obtaining legal residency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) started a deportation process.

"I thought my world was crumbling," said Velandia. His spouse, Vandiver, said "the only reason the federal government was not recognizing the marriage was the Defense of the Marriage Act."

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed into law in 1996. It protects the legal parameters surrounding the definition of marriage at the federal level, which recognizes the union as a man and a woman.

While President Barack Obama has repeatedly said the executive branch does not support DOMA, federal agencies continue to enforce it.

"Pursuant to the Attorney General's guidance, the Defense of Marriage Act remains in effect and the Executive Branch, including DHS, will continue to enforce it unless and until Congress repeals it or there a final judicial determination that it is unconstitutional," ICE said in a statement this week.

With the help of immigration lawyers Lavi Soloway and Noemi Masliah, the couple began an effort to halt the deportation. Soloway has said the federal agency should focus on deporting dangerous criminals instead of separating families. He asked for prosecutorial discretion.

Velandia has since appeared in several immigration hearings and, on May 6, was granted a temporary 7-month reprieve from deportation.

Soloway indicated that on June 9, Newark, New Jersey, chief counsel Jane Minichiello said ICE had "reconsidered the request and decided to move for Administrative Closure because this case was not an enforcement priority at this time."

It was not until June 29 that attorneys Soloway and Masliah actually received the judge's order terminating Velandia's removal proceedings.

"We are celebrating the future we just got now that my deportation was stopped," said Velandia. "We had this enormous burden over us that my husband of less than a year would be taken away from me and we'd be torn apart. Now we are celebrating that we get to be together indefinitely in this country," added Vandiver.

John Morton, director of ICE, recently reminded in a memo that officials use "prosecutorial discretion" in specific cases. ICE emphasizes that its priority is to focus on dangerous criminals.

This decision could set a precedent for thousands of gay couples.

A study from UCLA estimates that about 36,000 gay couples are made up of a U.S. citizen and a non-citizen. Some activist groups in favor of same sex marriage believe the number could be higher.

The decision does not grant Velandia legal permanent residence, but the couple says it buys them time to keep fighting for their cause and other same-sex couples.

"Couples who love each other should stay together," said Velandia.

CNN

China says rebels "dialogue partner" as Misrata hit (Reuters)

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – China said on Wednesday that the Libyan rebel council had become an "important dialogue partner" -- a shift that could complicate Muammar Gaddafi's efforts to hold on to power.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi made the comments as Gaddafi's forces succeeded in landing rockets in the rebel-held city of Misrata for the first time in several weeks, suggesting he remains far from giving up the fight.

Yang was speaking to Mahmoud Jibril, diplomatic chief of the National Transitional Council based in Benghazi in eastern Libya, during a visit to Beijing, according to a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

China's reticence to fully back Western efforts to bring down Gaddafi is seen by analysts as one factor sustaining the Tripoli government's defiance of a NATO military campaign.

At least eight European and Arab governments have said they recognize the LNC as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people. The Chinese shift could indicate it now sees Gaddafi's days as numbered.

Although no one was hurt in the Misrata attack, it dampened the relative sense of security among residents, who had believed the siege on their city was broken after rebels drove out loyalist forces in mid-May.

"Everyone is worried. We don't know where to go anymore. Only when I die will I be safe," said Mohammed Mabrouk, who lives near one of two houses hit by the rockets.

Two more landed in open areas.

Fighting has been largely on Misrata's far western and eastern edges, where the rebel army is sustaining heavier casualties by the day from the better equipped and better trained government forces.

Rebels have been trying to advance west toward the town of Zlitan, where Gaddafi's soldiers are imposing a tight siege. Libyan television said on Wednesday that "dozens" of people were killed in Zlitan after NATO naval ships shelled the town.

The report could not be independently verified because foreign reporters have been prevented from entering Zlitan.

NATO only comments on its Libya operations the day after.

If the Libyan television report is confirmed, it could further complicate the mission of the NATO-led military alliance, whose credibility has been questioned after it admitted on Sunday killing civilians in a Tripoli air strike.

A rebel spokesman called Mohammed told Reuters from Zlitan that NATO had been hitting government military targets in the town on an almost daily basis. He said Gaddafi's soldiers used their artillery positions in Zlitan to fire salvoes toward Misrata.

"We hear the sound of artillery fire every night," he said.

Four rebel fighters were killed and 60 others were wounded in fighting with government forces on Tuesday in Dafniya, which lies between Zlitan and Misrata. Eleven rebel fighters were killed there a day earlier.

Rebels have made slow progress since NATO countries joined their fight to overthrow Gaddafi in March but are now trying to inch toward Tripoli from Misrata, east of the capital, and from the Western Mountains region to its southwest.

The going is especially tough in Misrata.

"Gaddafi's forces have moved forward about a kilometer," Dr Mohammed Grigda said at the field hospital in Dafniya just outside Misrata.

It was impossible to verify the information but a Reuters reporter in Dafniya saw that rebel mortar positions had pulled back slightly.

U.S. SANCTIONS

Shelling by government forces positioned outside Misrata has been limited to neighborhoods on the edge of the city. A child was killed and two others were wounded on Monday when a rocket exploded in a house near the port in the east.

In the Western Mountains, where the rebels made significant gains in recent weeks, NATO launched four air strikes on Tuesday against government forces outside the town of Nalut near the border with Tunisia, a rebel spokesman there said. Gaddafi's soldiers fired 20 rockets into the town, but no one was hurt.

Gaddafi allies denounce the bombing campaign as a foreign attempt to force a change of government and seize the North African state's oil. NATO states defend the operation as a U.N.-mandated mission to protect Libyan civilians.

NATO said on Sunday its strike destroyed a house in Tripoli. Libyan officials said nine civilians died. The Libyan government said on Monday that 19 people were killed in another air strike, raising more questions about the military mission.

Libyan officials say NATO forces have killed more than 700 civilians, but have not presented evidence of such large numbers of civilian deaths and NATO denies them.

In a further blow to Libya's leaders, the United States on Tuesday blacklisted nine companies owned or controlled by Gaddafi's government. The sanctions prohibit U.S. transactions with the companies, including the Arab Turkish Bank, North Africa International Bank and North Africa Commercial Bank.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Joseph Nasr in Berlin and Ali Abdelatti in Cairo; Writing by Joseph Nasr and Andrew Hammond; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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