Love has no borders for same-sex bi-national couples

Last week’s overturning of Prop. 8 was an important step in what is still going to be a long battle for gay marriage rights. Some same-sex couples, though, are in the middle of an even bigger fight. Not only do they want the right to marry, but they also want the right to sponsor their immigrant partners for citizenship.

That lands them in the middle of another heated debate – over immigration reform. Right now, same-sex couples are legal strangers when it comes to this issue.

But there’s a chance that could change.

A provision in the Senate’s framework for immigration reform would let partners of American citizens apply for permanent resident status. Right now, that’s a right reserved for married heterosexual couples only.

This provision has led to an uproar from all sides of the immigration reform debate. KALW’s Heather Gilligan spoke to some same-sex, bi-national couples who find themselves in the middle of it all.

Heather Gilligan is a summer fellow with the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.