Attorney General Eric Holder took the rare step Thursday of asking an immigration judicial panel to reconsider the case of a gay man they'd cleared for deportation. 
 
 Holder set aside the Board of Immigration Appeals ruling allowing the deportation to Ireland of Paul Wilson Dorman, a gay man illegally in the U.S. Dorman wants to stay in the country with his male partner, with whom he celebrated a civil union in New Jersey. 
 
 The Board of Immigration Appeals judges had ruled against Dorman on the basis of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. 
 
 Dorman and his partner had asked the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the immigration board's ruling on the grounds that the decision was based on the Defense of Marriage Act. Briefs had been filed and formal arguments were about to be scheduled when Holder stepped in, Dorman's attorney, Nicholas Mundy, told The Associated Press. 
 
 Holder asked the immigration board to reconsider its decision and determine whether Dorman can be considered a spouse under New Jersey law and whether he would be a spouse under immigration law were it not for the Defense of Marriage Act, according to a copy of Holder's decision. 
 
 "This was an extraordinary measure by the Obama administration and demonstrates a clear commitment to nullify the Defense of Marriage Act," Mundy said of Holder's action. "It's a far-reaching victory not only for same-sex couples but for immigration reform." 
 
 The Obama administration in February said it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court. 
 
 Holder wanted the immigration judges to reconsider the case before the federal appeals court took up the gay couple's constitutional challenge, said Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler. 
 
 People who are facing deportation can ask immigration judges let them stay in the U.S. 
 
 To qualify for a "cancellation of removal," a person must have been in the U.S. 10 years and have a qualifying relative, such as an American citizen spouse or children. The person also must show good moral character and that the deportation will cause "exceptional and unusual hardship" to the qualifying relative. 
 
 Lavi Soloway, a New York immigration attorney and founder of Immigration Equality, a group that advocates for the immigration rights of gay couples, said he considers Holder's decision good news for gay people. Gay couples are barred from sponsoring their partners for immigration visas and denied other immigration benefits provided heterosexual couples. 
 
 "This is the right path. Until Congress can pass legislation to remedy this, the executive branch can and should act," Soloway said. 
 
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 Associated Press writer Michele Salcedo contributed to this report. 
 
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 Online: 
 
 Immigration Equality: http://www.immigrationequality.org/ 
 
 Board of Immigration Appeals: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/biainfo.htm 

 WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder vacated a deportation order Thursday for a man who, if he were married to a woman rather than in a civil union with a man, would likely be eligible to remain in the country. 
 
 Holder announced he would use his discretion to ask the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider the application of New Jersey resident Paul Wilson Dorman to stay in the country, and to determine whether his deportation order was based on the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that bans same-sex marriages. Although the Obama administration announced in February that it would no longer defend DOMA, the government has continued to deport gay men and women who are legally married to U.S. citizens. 
 
 The administration has come under fire for barring same-sex couples from legal avenues to keep them in the same country. While heterosexual men and women can petition for legal status for their foreign spouses, same-sex couples must look for other routes to keep their non-native partners in the country legally -- even in states that recognize gay marriage -- under DOMA. 
 
 When the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend DOMA, DHS briefly put deportation of same-sex married couples on hold. But it quickly announced there would be no official policy change on deportation based on the DOMA decision. 
 
 About 24,000 couples in the United States include one foreign-born partner, researcher Gary Gates at UCLA's Williams Institute told the Washington Postin September. 
 
 Although Holder’s order could keep Dorman in the United States, it does not necessarily mean other same-sex couples are safe from deportation based on DOMA. The Board of Immigration Appeals does not have jurisdiction over Constitutional issues, meaning the ruling will not establish whether same-sex couples face discrimination on immigration issues based on DOMA. 
 
 Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing for the government to eliminate rules that they say discriminate against same sex couples. Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) re-introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow gay and lesbian couples to petition for legal status for foreign-born partners, while Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) have also pushed for policy changes. 
 
 Steve Ralls, communication director for advocacy group Immigration Equality, said the administration should bar immigration officials from denying legal status to same-sex couples based on DOMA, at least until questions over the law’s constitutionality are settled. 
 
 Still, Ralls said Holder’s order was “a step in the right direction.” 
 
 “We are certainly pleased that the attorney general is now looking at what options now exist to keep gay immigrant families together,” he said. “We’re optimistic and hopeful.” 
 

– The attorney general made the surprising move of suspending the deportation of a gay man in a civil union with a US citizen yesterday. The AP reports that Holder has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider its decision. The board had called for the deportation of Paul Wilson Dorman to Ireland, even though he celebrated a civil union in New Jersey with his male partner—because the Defense of Marriage Act blocks gay marriage. Holder says there are two key points: Would the deportation would still occur if DOMA didn’t exist, and is Dorman officially a “spouse” according to New Jersey state law? To qualify for a "cancelation of removal," a person must have been in the US 10 years and have a qualifying relative, such as an American citizen spouse or children. The Huffington Post notes that even if Dorman gets to stay in the US, that won't exactly translate into good news for all other same-sex couples fearing deportation: The board doesn't have jurisdiction over Constitutional issues, so any ruling it makes won't establish whether "same-sex couples face discrimination on immigration issues based on DOMA."