A former Brighton policeman is facing imminent deportation from America.

This is because US authorities refuse to recognise his gay relationship. Charles Lago, 40, who entered the United States on a tourist visa, has been told his only hope of staying in the country is to marry an American woman. But Mr Lago said: "Why should I do that when I'm already in a relationship with an American? To all intents and purposes, we are married."

But the United States does not recognise his 12-year relationship with partner Charles Snell because it is not a legal marriage. Lago's tourist visa expired eight years ago. Marriage to a US citizen generally allows immigrants to stay in thecountry and apply for permanent residency.

Mr Lago faces a deportation hearing on March 13. He was picked up in November after telling a US Border Patrol agent at a checkpoint between San Diego and Los Angeles that he did not have a British passport or US residency.

He said: "I think it's a foregone conclusion I'm going to have to leave. The law is very cut and dried. There is really no defence." Mr Lago said he did not realise he was in the U.S. illegally after overstaying his tourist visa, which was issued in 1992.

He and Mr Snell once owned a coffee shop and bookstore in Palm Springs and they are active in the theatre communities of Los Angeles and San Diego. In November, when stopped at the checkpoint he was asked about his birthplace and nationality.

He told the truth, resulting in three days' detention. He said: "To me it is ironic that America prides itself as a free and democratic society but it certainly isn't for gay people."

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