Entries Tagged 'immigrationequality' ↓

In an exciting, and historic, development, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced just moments ago that he will convene a Congressional hearing, on June 3^rd, about the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). This extraordinary news means that, for the first time, our families will be the subject of a hearing specifically addressing the plight of binational lesbian and gay couples.   

All of us at Immigration Equality are incredibly proud to be working closely with Senator Leahy to make this moment possible.  And we’re incredibly proud of our supporters, too.  Your phone calls and email to Congress – and the courage of  your families and families like Shirley Tan and Jay Mercado in speaking out – were critically important in our efforts. 

The June 3^rd hearing will not only be a milestone on our path to victory in Washington, but it will also be a watershed moment for ensuring that our families are part of the national conversation on immigration reform.  This will be a powerful moment – and a significant step forward – in our work to educate lawmakers about our relationships and engage Congressional leaders on the issue.  Members of Congress are traditionally reluctant to pass legislation that has not been discussed and weighed in at Congressional hearings, so a hearing is critical to UAFA’s future success, and its inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform.  The hearing is, quite simply, one of the most significant moments ever in our work to secure full equality for lesbian and gay binational couples.

In the coming days, we will have more information on this landmark hearing.  If you haven’t already, sign up for Immigration Equality email updates delivered directly to your inbox. And please continue to visit our website and blog for important updates. 

We will continue our work to make sure our families are included in this historic moment . . . and continue to keep all of our supporters updated on what’s happening and how you can be involved.

Senator Leahy blogged on his support for binational lesbian and gay couples last Friday after he introduced the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) of 2009:

On February 12, I was proud to reintroduce the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to petition for their foreign same-sex partners to come to the United States under our family immigration system.

Click here for the remainder of the blog.

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Today, Change.org featured Immigration Equality and our work on the HIV travel ban, LGBT asylum, and our new transgender immigration law manual on their home page.

I enjoyed this Funny or Die video about Prop. 8. (Thanks, Shawn!)

September was a huge month for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in Washington. Four new Senators and eighteen Representatives came on to the bill, bring our total number of cosponsors to a record eighteen Senators and 118 House Members – increases of 30% and 20% respectively.
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Clearly, the binational couples who reach out to their elected officials are changing hearts and minds. And this upswing is happening right when members are heading home – at the end of the month – to campaign for reelection. It shows that for many members of Congress, supporting LGBT rights is part of their reelection plan. And for Immigration Equality, it helps us position UAFA in the next Congress and administration as a bill with momentum and growing support.
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Members came on from all across the country, from the red, blue, and purple states – the Carolinas, Kansas, Washington state, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, you name it!
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Immigration Equality couldn’t say it better than cosponsors in Congress from both parties who spoke out this week on the importance of UAFA:
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Senator Chris Dodd, D-CT: “U.S. immigration law should not force Americans to leave their country and community behind in order to keep their family intact. I am pleased to cosponsor the Uniting American Families Act, which will allow lesbian and gay Americans the basic dignity of sponsoring their partner for immigration.”
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Representative Christopher Shays, R-CT-4: “I believe our nation’s immigration laws treat gay and lesbian couples unfairly. Two people of the same sex can be involved in a loving, long-term relationship and feel no less love for one another than partners in a heterosexual relationship. Yet our immigration laws do not permit U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to bring their same-sex partners into the United States. There are tragic stories about U.S. citizens being forced to make a choice between leaving the partner they love or leaving this country they call home.”
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Today, at a hearing on a bill for federal employment benefits for domestic partners, the only witness against benefits, Hon. Howard Weizmann, Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), said the measure would lead to fraud – and offered as the only proof the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry!! (He also announced at the beginning of the hearing that OPM was neutral on the issue, then received a note mid-hearing and announced that OPM is against domestic partnership benefits. Sounds a bit like the administration may be making policy decisions on the fly!)

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In any case, if Hollywood fantasies are the best argument that opponents to same-sex partner benefits can muster on the Hill – well, what can we say. Even Bill O’Reilly didn’t think of that one! Meanwhile, Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Collins (R-ME), the chairman and ranking members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee which held the hearing, argued that same-sex partners of federal employees should be entitled to full health, relocation, retirement, and other employment benefits. Senators, business leaders and labor witnesses argued that sworn affidavits should be sufficient evidence of a committed partnership. If affidavits are good enough proof of relationship for employment benefits for same-sex partners, then the much more rigorous requirements to prove a committed relationship for sponsoring a spouse should certainly suffice for immigration benefits!

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This is not to make light of the challenges we will face in winning full immigration equality for LGBT and HIV-positive Americans in Washington. The fact is that the stigma against immigrants now seems stronger than anti-LGBT sentiments inside the beltway. Our challenge will be to work with other immigrant rights groups to overcome that stigma, and win the right of family unification for all of America’s immigrant families – including ours.

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And the dramatic increase in support for UAFA will provide just the right kick for restarting the fight in 2009!

Yesterday’s email update and blog posting about Lobby Week in D.C. and Janet Dagley’s motivation to lobby for UAFA prompted inquires about her full story.
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As a mother to two children in binational relationships, one straight and one gay, Janet’s story goes to the heart of why our immigration system is unfair to same-sex couples and why we need change now.
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In her own words, here is the rest of Janet’s story.  We hope that you can join Janet and other activist in D.C. for our Lobby Week -May 6, 7, and 8.

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 “Don’t export my son!”

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Hello, my name is Janet. I’m an American. My two children were born here: they’re Americans, too. More than 200 years ago, our family ancestors fought to establish the United States as a land of equality and religious tolerance, and since then generation after generation of our family has worked to maintain and build upon that legacy.

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We are a deeply rooted American family, but we are also an international family. My son and daughter are adults now, and both of them have been fortunate in finding wonderful life partners, both of whom happen to be citizens of other countries.

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In the years they’ve been together, I’ve been fortunate to have both my children and their partners living nearby. We’ve always gotten together as a family for birthdays, holidays, or just plain family dinners, joyous moments that represent every mother’s dream, with the whole family together. My son was always available to help me with my computer or drive me somewhere I needed to go, and he and his partner made frequent visits to see my elderly mother. But the U.S. government won’t let that happen anymore.

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As a mother, I love both my children equally: any parent knows how that feels. I love their partners equally, too. They are as much a part of our family as anyone else.

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If you want to make a mother angry, give one of her children a right that you deny the other. And if you want to break a mother’s heart, force one of her children to move far away from her in order to keep his household together. That’s what the U.S. government has done to our family, and thousands of others in similar circumstances.

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My daughter and her partner were married last September in his homeland. Because they are an opposite-sex couple, his immigration status was assured from the moment they became engaged, and he is now on the path to American citizenship.

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But my son and his partner are a same-sex couple, which means that even though they have been together for 8 years, they have no relationship in the eyes of United States law. Because of that, our government has given my son a heartbreaking choice: to be with his partner, he has to give up his home, his job, his car, his mother, his sister, his grandmother, and move to another continent to start over with nothing.

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For the past four years, my son’s partner lived here legally as a full-time student, pursuing his dream of becoming a chef.  He wasn’t allowed to work, which was a hardship for our entire family, but we all pulled together and we managed. He had straight A’s, his tuition was paid, he followed all the rules, and all was well until he went back to be with his parents during his father’s heart surgery.  When he applied to return to his home here in New Jersey, his visa was denied because he couldn’t prove that he had a home and a job there in his native country, and because he couldn’t acknowledge his relationship to my son and our family.  My son was left alone here in the home they had made together, and his partner was stranded thousands of miles away with only a suitcase full of possessions he’d taken for what was supposed to be a two-week visit.

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Now my son is in the process of dismantling their household as he goes through the process of applying for permission to live in his partner’s country. Fortunately that country is one of a growing number of nations that give equal rights to same-sex couples, so they will have rights there that are denied them here.

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It breaks my heart to have to say goodbye to my son under these circumstances, and to not even have had a chance to say goodbye to the man I consider my son-in-law. My friends can’t believe it when I tell them my son is, essentially, a political refugee, with no choice but to go elsewhere to find equal rights. “But this is the United States of America!” they tell me. “This can’t be happening!” But it is.

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My 76-year-old mother can’t believe it, either. But she has no choice. She loves my son and his partner, too, just as she loves my daughter and her husband.  She doesn’t understand why it has to be this way, and she’s suffering under the stress. Her blood pressure was under control until this happened, but the shock has destabilized her and continues to threaten her health. Traveling to another continent would be difficult if not impossible for her, and she wonders if she’ll ever see her grandson again.

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We have one glimmer of hope: the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would allow my son to sponsor his partner in the same way my daughter, has sponsored hers. I know it’s not likely to be passed in time to allow my son to stay here and bring his partner back home, but I will continue to urge Congress to pass this important legislation and allow me to bring my family back together.