" ... When You Have Someone Who Loves You."
By Steve Ralls on 04/04/2011 @ 11:41 AM
Sunday's New York Daily News includes a moving, and powerful, profile of Edwin Blesch and his husband, Tim Smulian.
Edwin and Tim - who are being represented by Immigration Equality's legal team - are threatened with imminent separation because of discriminatory immigration laws that threaten to tear them apart. The couple, who are married in South Africa and whose marriage is recognized in Edwin's home state of New York, are currently together on Long Island. Tim's visa expires in July, however ... just weeks after Edwin is scheduled to have surgery.
"Smulian is [Edwin's] primary caregiver," reporter Erica Pearson notes, "but has no way to stay here permanently."
"It's not a good idea for me to be away," Blesch, a retired English professor, told the Daily News. "And it's not a good idea for me to be away from Tim.
"That's the conundrum."
It is also why Immigration Equality attorneys have worked with Edwin to file a spousal petition on behalf of Tim. If the two are separated by immigration, Edwin will lose his caretaker just when he needs him the most.
Rachel Tiven, our executive director, told Pearson that the couple present an especially compelling case for the law to change. "They never overstayed, not by one day, and have always been careful to follow the letter of the law," she said.
In fact, Tim and Edwin have routinely traveled for the six months each year that Tim is unable to be in the United States. Because of Edwin's health, however, travel has become more difficult.
"We need a break from the travel," Smulian said. "It's killing us."
The couple, who made the journey to Washington for visits, arranged by Immigration Equality, with their Senators, told the Daily News they hope the laws that tear couples like them apart will be overturned "in our lifetime."
"This is a basic right - to fall in love with and live with the person you want to. The pursuit of happiness, I guess you'd call it," Blesch said. "We would like to be at home, at our fire, reading...Who wants to grow old alone when you have someone who loves you?"
Read the full Daily News profile online here.
Photo by Roca/The Daily News.
Comments
Leave a Comment