Obama administration announces new policy for deportations

Today, the Obama administration has announced that it will conduct case-by-case reviews of the roughly 300,000 current deportation cases. These reviews will allow the government to expedite high priority cases involving criminals or individuals who pose a threat to national security. They may also provide relief for bi-national same-sex couples, since it will slow down or dismiss the deportation process for individuals with low priority. The priorities will be based upon a June memorandum on prosecutorial discretion.

According to the memo, discretion can be given based on “the person’s ties and contributions to the community, including family relationships.” LGBT families fall under this umbrella according to the Department of Homeland Security, making today’s news a welcome change to immigration policy. We do however, hope that this clarification can be codified at all levels so that the families in our community can be included in these new guidelines.