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ICE will update prosecutorial discretion guidance to include LGBT couples
October 1, 2012 | By David Perera
http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/ice-will-update-prosecutorial-discretion-guidance-include-lgbt-couples/2012-10-01 (http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/ice-will-update-prosecutorial-discretion-guidance-include-lgbt-couples/2012-10-01)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement will issue written guidance that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender illegal immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses or partners are eligible for prosecutorial discretion.
DHS spokesman Peter Boogaard said the LGBT guidance is only a clarification of existing policy, since "long-term, same-sex partners have been included as 'family relationships' under ICE Director Morton's June 2011 prosecutorial discretion memorandum."
The DHS announcement of the updated guidance comes after House Democrats urged in an Aug. 1 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to explicitly recognize LGBT partners as meeting the definition of "family relationships."
In a Sept. 28 statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the decision to issue new guidance "will provide a measure of clarity and confidence to families dealing with separation in immigration cases."