Charges reveal immigration dilemma for gay couples
Charges reveal immigration dilemma for gay couples
By Robert Patrick rpatrick@post-dispatch.com | 314-621-5154
Copyright by The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Jun. 11 2007
For Eric Affholter, the St. Louis public defender, it was an almost impossible
decision: lose the man he loves, leave the country to be with him or commit a
federal crime.
Affholter picked the crime.
"It was an agonizing decision from a personal perspective, from a legal
perspective," he said in an interview.
But he and Pedro Cerna-Rojas did what they thought best, Affholter said. They
asked a good friend — who was an assistant public defender in Affholter's
office — to marry Cerna-Rojas to save him from being forced home to Peru for
want of a visa.
"I just wanted to be able to spend the rest of my life with the person I fell
in love with — in this country," Affholter said in an interview Friday..
Cerna-Rojas married Collette Lewis in December 2004 in Las Vegas. Affholter and
Lewis' boyfriend, Assistant Circuit Attorney Timothy J. O'Leary, were
witnesses.
The four then returned to St. Louis and quietly lived with their respective
partners — until the news of the arrangement somehow leaked out last month and
prompted a federal investigation.
Affholter, Lewis and O'Leary all resigned from their public jobs. Affholter,
40, and Cerna-Rojas, 31, were indicted June 1 for marriage fraud. Officials say
that Cerna-Rojas has returned to Peru.
Affholter won't talk about where his partner is, or whether they are in contact.
While the decision to commit a crime was agonizing, Affholter said, "It's just
as agonizing to be separated."
Lewis has declined to comment. O'Leary could not be reached.
Affholter said he agreed to talk, with his lawyers present, to draw attention
to pending legislation. The Uniting American Families Act, reintroduced in
Congress this year, would allow an American to sponsor a same-sex "permanent
partner" for legal residency.
"Had that been permitted, that is the path that Eric and Pedro would have
pursued," said one of Affholter's lawyers, Adam Fein.
'desperate
measures'
A marriage between a man and a woman is recognized for immigration purposes,
but civil unions and gay marriages —even where they are allowed — do not
qualify under the Defense of Marriage Act, said Adam Francoeur, policy
coordinator of Immigration Equality.
Francoeur said his group, which works to end immigration discrimination against
"lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive people," opposes sham
marriages for immigration purposes.
"But it does occur because of the desperation that many couples face," he said.
Affholter and Fein said that they have been in touch with advocacy groups,
including the American Civil Liberties Union and Immigration Equality. But the
criminal charges have kept some potential supporters at arm's length.
"I think there's going to be some hesitancy to embrace this as an example,"
said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. "I wish
they'd come forward as an example before" resorting to the marriage.
He said he understands their action as "an example of the desperate measures
that normally law-abiding people are forced to go to, to be with the person
they love."
By contrast, Rothert said, heterosexual couples can petition for permanent
residency simply by saying they are going to get married.
But Peter LaBarbera, president of the Illinois-based Americans for Truth, said
he does not believe that most Americans want to make it easier for homosexuals
to be in the country.
"We should give priority for … normally married couples to get into this
country," he said.
LaBarbera's group describes itself as a "national organization devoted
exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda."
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway, whose office is prosecuting the case, said the
social issue is beyond her role: "We can't be advocates for changes in the law.
Our job is to enforce the law."
Chester Moyer, officer in charge of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services office in St. Louis, declined to comment.
limited options
Affholter met Cerna-Rojas through friends at a now-defunct restaurant in 2003.
Cerna-Rojas is from a small town in Peru, Affholter said, and came here for a
postgraduate education with hopes to stay.
Their romance blossomed that summer, around the time Affholter became district
defender, in charge of providing criminal defense to the poor. They moved in
together in St. Louis
Affholter said he was open about it, introducing Cerna-Rojas as his partner in
social situations.
But Cerna-Rojas couldn't get a work visa.
Affholter said he cannot express "just how incredibly difficult it was to sit
down and talk about the options."
To leave, he said, meant, "I would have had to give up my family, my livelihood
… friendships, home. Everything I did to build a life."
Instead, they turned to close friends, Lewis and O'Leary, to help arrange a
marriage, with Lewis as the bride.
Affholter acknowledged that they discussed the potential legal consequences.
"It was illegal. And as a lawyer, I should have made a decision to uphold the
law," Affholter said.
"I'm enormously thankful that neither Collette or Tim have been charged. They
are both outstanding lawyers. And they have already suffered enormously for
what was an incredible act of friendship," he said.
Cerna-Rojas' paternal grandfather was a U.S. citizen, Affholter said. He speaks
of Cerna-Rojas in the past tense, as in he "was'" a piano player and painter.
Affholter said he will plead guilty. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he
could face up to 12 months in prison.
After that? Affholter says he does not know.
"I'm still reeling," he explained.
He is working for a property management company in Illinois that employed him
before he became district defender.
Cerna-Rojas could be barred from the country for a decade or more, Fein said.
Peru seems an unlikely destination for the couple.
"I don't believe that that is a country where people can live openly and safely
as a gay couple," Affholter said. He said the concern played into the decision
to set up the marriage.
Sponsors of the Uniting American Families Act say that 16 countries allow their
citizens to sponsor same-sex partners.
Asked about the prospects of passage this year, Francoeur spoke of "building a
long-term strategy" and added: "It's at the intersection of two very
contentious issues — immigration and gay rights.
Rothert called it an uphill battle.
If anything good comes out of the situation, Rothert said, the friends,
families and co-workers of those involved "have been touched by inequality and
recognize the unfair position that they were placed in simply because of their
sexual orientation.
"I think that's what changes people's minds."
By Robert Patrick rpatrick@post-dispatch.com | 314-621-5154
Copyright by The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Jun. 11 2007
For Eric Affholter, the St. Louis public defender, it was an almost impossible
decision: lose the man he loves, leave the country to be with him or commit a
federal crime.
Affholter picked the crime.
"It was an agonizing decision from a personal perspective, from a legal
perspective," he said in an interview.
But he and Pedro Cerna-Rojas did what they thought best, Affholter said. They
asked a good friend — who was an assistant public defender in Affholter's
office — to marry Cerna-Rojas to save him from being forced home to Peru for
want of a visa.
"I just wanted to be able to spend the rest of my life with the person I fell
in love with — in this country," Affholter said in an interview Friday..
Cerna-Rojas married Collette Lewis in December 2004 in Las Vegas. Affholter and
Lewis' boyfriend, Assistant Circuit Attorney Timothy J. O'Leary, were
witnesses.
The four then returned to St. Louis and quietly lived with their respective
partners — until the news of the arrangement somehow leaked out last month and
prompted a federal investigation.
Affholter, Lewis and O'Leary all resigned from their public jobs. Affholter,
40, and Cerna-Rojas, 31, were indicted June 1 for marriage fraud. Officials say
that Cerna-Rojas has returned to Peru.
Affholter won't talk about where his partner is, or whether they are in contact.
While the decision to commit a crime was agonizing, Affholter said, "It's just
as agonizing to be separated."
Lewis has declined to comment. O'Leary could not be reached.
Affholter said he agreed to talk, with his lawyers present, to draw attention
to pending legislation. The Uniting American Families Act, reintroduced in
Congress this year, would allow an American to sponsor a same-sex "permanent
partner" for legal residency.
"Had that been permitted, that is the path that Eric and Pedro would have
pursued," said one of Affholter's lawyers, Adam Fein.
'desperate
measures'
A marriage between a man and a woman is recognized for immigration purposes,
but civil unions and gay marriages —even where they are allowed — do not
qualify under the Defense of Marriage Act, said Adam Francoeur, policy
coordinator of Immigration Equality.
Francoeur said his group, which works to end immigration discrimination against
"lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive people," opposes sham
marriages for immigration purposes.
"But it does occur because of the desperation that many couples face," he said.
Affholter and Fein said that they have been in touch with advocacy groups,
including the American Civil Liberties Union and Immigration Equality. But the
criminal charges have kept some potential supporters at arm's length.
"I think there's going to be some hesitancy to embrace this as an example,"
said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. "I wish
they'd come forward as an example before" resorting to the marriage.
He said he understands their action as "an example of the desperate measures
that normally law-abiding people are forced to go to, to be with the person
they love."
By contrast, Rothert said, heterosexual couples can petition for permanent
residency simply by saying they are going to get married.
But Peter LaBarbera, president of the Illinois-based Americans for Truth, said
he does not believe that most Americans want to make it easier for homosexuals
to be in the country.
"We should give priority for … normally married couples to get into this
country," he said.
LaBarbera's group describes itself as a "national organization devoted
exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda."
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway, whose office is prosecuting the case, said the
social issue is beyond her role: "We can't be advocates for changes in the law.
Our job is to enforce the law."
Chester Moyer, officer in charge of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services office in St. Louis, declined to comment.
limited options
Affholter met Cerna-Rojas through friends at a now-defunct restaurant in 2003.
Cerna-Rojas is from a small town in Peru, Affholter said, and came here for a
postgraduate education with hopes to stay.
Their romance blossomed that summer, around the time Affholter became district
defender, in charge of providing criminal defense to the poor. They moved in
together in St. Louis
Affholter said he was open about it, introducing Cerna-Rojas as his partner in
social situations.
But Cerna-Rojas couldn't get a work visa.
Affholter said he cannot express "just how incredibly difficult it was to sit
down and talk about the options."
To leave, he said, meant, "I would have had to give up my family, my livelihood
… friendships, home. Everything I did to build a life."
Instead, they turned to close friends, Lewis and O'Leary, to help arrange a
marriage, with Lewis as the bride.
Affholter acknowledged that they discussed the potential legal consequences.
"It was illegal. And as a lawyer, I should have made a decision to uphold the
law," Affholter said.
"I'm enormously thankful that neither Collette or Tim have been charged. They
are both outstanding lawyers. And they have already suffered enormously for
what was an incredible act of friendship," he said.
Cerna-Rojas' paternal grandfather was a U.S. citizen, Affholter said. He speaks
of Cerna-Rojas in the past tense, as in he "was'" a piano player and painter.
Affholter said he will plead guilty. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he
could face up to 12 months in prison.
After that? Affholter says he does not know.
"I'm still reeling," he explained.
He is working for a property management company in Illinois that employed him
before he became district defender.
Cerna-Rojas could be barred from the country for a decade or more, Fein said.
Peru seems an unlikely destination for the couple.
"I don't believe that that is a country where people can live openly and safely
as a gay couple," Affholter said. He said the concern played into the decision
to set up the marriage.
Sponsors of the Uniting American Families Act say that 16 countries allow their
citizens to sponsor same-sex partners.
Asked about the prospects of passage this year, Francoeur spoke of "building a
long-term strategy" and added: "It's at the intersection of two very
contentious issues — immigration and gay rights.
Rothert called it an uphill battle.
If anything good comes out of the situation, Rothert said, the friends,
families and co-workers of those involved "have been touched by inequality and
recognize the unfair position that they were placed in simply because of their
sexual orientation.
"I think that's what changes people's minds."
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:44 AM
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