As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and president pro tem of the Senate, Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy managed the effort to win approval for the immigration bill known as the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act.
In January, Leahy announced that immigration reform would be his committee’s top priority. Approval of the bill by the U.S. Senate vote comes after a series of hearings and five mark-ups.
In order to win passage Leahy decided to drop a provision that would have allowed an individual in a same sex marriage to sponsor their foreign partner for a green card. Leahy says he was concerned that the amendment would jeopardize the support of some members of his committee.
But Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act paved the way for legally married gay men and women to claim the federal benefits afforded to heterosexual married couples, including sponsoring a foreign-born spouse for permanent residency.
