Orinda Couple Can Stay Together Thanks to Supreme Court DOMA Ruling

An Orinda couple will get to stay together after the Supreme Court last week overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Alfonso Garcia and Brian Willingham were married in New York in 2011. But since Garcia’s parents brought him to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 14 years old, he was not legally in the country. That fact came to light when Garcia was stopped for a traffic violation in 2011, according to KPIX. He was held in a detention center and faced deportation. 

Though Willingham tried to get his mate a green card, the federal government denied the petition because of DOMA. But once the Supreme Court shot down that law last week, Garcia can remain in the U.S. as Willingham’s legal spouse.

"I just started crying," Garcia told KTVU. "I started crying because I was so happy that for once my marriage was being recognized on the federal level and also in society. We are married."