I don't think they should be thrown out of the country

Foreign-Born Widows Face Deportation

If a green card application is pending at the time of a US-born spouse's death, then the widow/er who is foreign-born is subject to deportation, even if there are children from the marriage who are US citizens. For that matter, if the application was approved but the spouse died before the marriage was two years old, it is subjected to deportation consideration on a case-by-case basis. The only exception is if the spouse was an active member of the US military.

It seems a shame to kick out a legal immigrant after she or he has already suffered great personal loss. In the cases presented in this story, one man died trying to save drowning children and was posthumously awarded one of the Coast Guard's highest honours, and two died in Iraq as military contractors, supporting the armed forces there. That their spouses are facing deportation because of their deaths is a slap in the face of their heroism.

It seems to me that maybe this crack in the sidewalk should be mended. In the meantime, if you're a couple that has a US citizen and a foreign national together, by all means do the paperwork for permanent residency as soon as it can be done...your future may depend upon it.

For more information about this, including the class action lawsuit that has been filed to try to change things, see Surviving Spouses Against Deportation.