Oregon Public Broadcasting

Years of work by a Portland immigration lawyer are paying off.  

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano granted a reprieve Tuesday that applies to foreign-born spouses of American citizens.  The spouses sometimes face deportation after their partner’s death.  Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

Portland attorney Brent Renison says there are 60 to 70 known widows and widowers in the Western U.S. in this most unfortunate bind.

The affected people are immigrants from all over the world who’ve recently married Americans.  But then some accident, shooting, or illness claims the American before the foreign born spouse gets her green card. 

A quirk in U.S. immigration law then calls for deportation of the widow -- and children if there are any.  

Brent Renison calls Secretary Napolitano’s announcement a “temporary reprieve,” not a victory. 

Brent Renison: “Those people while they’re trying to resolve their cases, they’re not going to face deportation for at least two years.  Still when you’re in this limbo and you’re trying to grieve, it makes it awfully hard when you don’t know where you are going to live.”

Even with this directive, the Homeland Security Department maintains an act of Congress is still needed to allow the surviving spouses to receive permanent residency.

Online:

Department of Homeland Security statement

Surviving Spouses Against Deportation