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Sixty Members of Congress, led by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), have issued a letter calling on President Obama and Congressional leaders to pass legislation which would end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) immigrant families. The statement, which comes from members of the LGBT Equality Caucus, urges passage of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) and for inclusion of “LGBT binational families in comprehensive immigration reform.” Under current immigration law, lesbian and gay Americans are unable to sponsor their partners for residency in the United States, resulting in many such families living separately, or facing imminent separation, from their loved ones.“No one,” the letter insists, “should be forced to choose between the person they love and the country they call home. It is time that our immigration laws kept families together instead of tearing them apart.”
“Passage of immigration reform will require every family standing with their neighbors and loved ones to work for change,” said Rachel B. Tiven, Executive Director of Immigration Equality, a national organization that works to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law. “The LGBT Equality Caucus’s letter signals that our champions in Congress, and the LGBT community, are ready to work for passage of reform that includes all families, including LGBT families. There are more than 36,000 lesbian and gay binational families counting on us to get this work done. ”
The letter – spearheaded by Congresswoman Baldwin and Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Jared Polis (D-CO), Mike Honda (D-CA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) – comes as Congress is expected to turn its attention to comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the near future. According to an analysis of U.S. census data, more than 36,000 lesbian and gay binational couples would benefit from an LGBT-inclusive immigration reform bill. Nearly half of those families, data show, are raising young children who face the possibility of being separated from one of their parents.
More below the fold.
“Recognizing how important familes have been to our national development, the central mission of our immigration system has always been to reunify families.,” said Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). “In order to be true to that core value, comprehensive immigration reform must fix our system to include LGBT families. Failure to do so would leave us with a flawed system that continues to tear apart families, contrary to our legal and constitutional traditions.”Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the lead House sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act, which would also end discrimination against LGBT binational families, agreed.
“We must take the government out of the business of singling out LGBT families for discriminatory treatment and live up to our democratic ideal of equality under the law,” Nadler said. “I join my colleagues in calling on Congress and the White House to include the Uniting American Families Act, which I have introduced in every Congress since 2000, in any immigration reform legislation, and end discrimination against binational LGBT families.”
“There is simply no place for discrimination in America,” Congresswoman Baldwin added. “As we tackle comprehensive immigration reform, it’s imperative that we end discriminatory laws that hurt couples, their children and extended families, and their communities and employers.”
Immigration Equality has also significantly increased its legislative work on the issue, recently announcing the formation of a 501(c)4 Action Fund, to significant increase its lobbying work, and an expanded Washington, D.C. office.
“This is the moment,” Tiven said. “Introduction of comprehensive immigration reform legislation provides a unique opportunity to win a critical victory for LGBT families, and all families. We will work, non-stop, with our allies in the LGBT Equality Caucus, and the immigration rights movement, to do just that.”
Here is the full letter:
February 2, 2010
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, D.C. 20510The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Chairman, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
313 Hart Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20510The Honorable Zoe Lofgren
Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
102 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515Dear President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Schumer, and Chairwoman Lofgren:
As members of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, we are writing to express our strong support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill which would end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) binational families. We urge Congress to include the Uniting American Families Act (H.R. 1024/S. 424) in any comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
Currently, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses (and other immediate family members) for immigration purposes. But, same-sex partners committed to spending their lives together are not recognized as “families” under U.S. immigration law and thus do not have this same right. As a result, tens of thousands of binational families are either already living separately, face imminent separation, or have left the U.S. entirely in order to remain together. This is unacceptable, and we believe comprehensive immigration reform legislation must include a strong family reunification component inclusive of LGBT families.
According to 2000 census data compiled by the Williams Institute, an estimated 36,000 LGBT binational families are impacted by the inability to sponsor their partners for residency, and nearly half of those (47 percent) are raising children. Our existing, discriminatory immigration laws hurt not only those individuals, but their extended families, communities, and employers, as well. Not only would an inclusive family reunification provision strengthen American families, it would bolster the competitiveness of businesses in the U.S. by allowing corporations to attract, employ, and retain the very best talent from across the globe. Indeed, the U.S. lags behind 19 countries that already recognize same-sex couples for immigration purposes, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.
In truth, no immigration reform bill can be called “comprehensive” unless it includes all Americans, including those who are LGBT. This is recognized in the Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709), which includes LGBT families in addressing the broader immigration problem of family unification.
We urge you to include LGBT binational families in comprehensive immigration reform legislation. No one should be forced to choose between the person they love and the country they call home. It is time that our immigration laws kept families together instead of tearing them apart.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Congressmen Barney Frank (D- MA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Mike Quigley (D-IL), et. al.
18 Comments
Who signed?Does anyone know where there is a list of who signed the letter? I do know how to use the interwebs and the google, but can’t find anything except pointers to the Immigration Equality site.
Congressional LGBT Equality CaucusThe reports say the letter was sent by members of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. Here’s a link to the webpage with list of members.
http://lgbt.tammybaldwin.house…
My rep the Hon Brad Sherman is a member of the caucus. Thank goodness
LGBT Equality CaucusThanks for pointing that out! My representative, Jim McDermott, is also a member and I just called his office to thank him for this public statement.
Join our petition and make sure that Sen Schumer & Rep Lofgren hears from us as well!Out4Immigration has been organizing a weekly letter writing campaign to get more support for Equal Immigration Rights for Same Sex Binational Couples. I would urge you to join their petition urging Sen Schumer & Rep Lofgren to include LGBT Families in any Comprehensive Immigration Reform!
The link is here.
Please sign the petition that will be sent to Sen Schumer’s & Rep Lofgren’s Office… they need to hear from us too!
Ditto for Mazie Hirono and Neil AbercrombieJust sent them both a note thanking them for their support.
SIGNEDAnd posted on my Facebook for starters.
As one half of a bi-national couple (Five years and counting), I cannot begin to say how important this is for me. I can say how important it is for you.
Imagine living in a society that constantly sense from the moment you are born that you are less than. Imagine living with thought that any day you could lose your job, your home, your friends, your family. Imagine finding someone whom you trust above all others, that you find comfort from, that you can share all of life’s trials together but not being able to be with that person for the simple fact that you live in another country from them and that your country while allowing others to cohabit because they can marry and you cannot.
Imagine all the emotions that you feel in a single day and what that does to you.
it’s not just LGBTQ…the system is totally unfair all the way around.
i have close friends in Honduras. their daughter and her husband are legally in the U.S. and on track for citizenship. she is an ESL/ELL teacher and he is a tech designer. they have contributed greatly to the community they live in.
two years ago they made the gross mistake of going to Honduras for a close family member’s funeral while she was pregnant.
unexpectedly, she gave birth early to one of the most beautiful & precocious little girls i’ve ever met.
and yes, you can guess it, though they are here legally the all powerful wizards of immigration would not let this little girl enter the U.S. when her parents returned here. she did not qualify for immigration status because she was born on foreign soi!
she is being raised by her grandparents, my friends, and can only talk on the phone to her mommy & daddy. she cannot even come to visit them.
immigration says that it could take up to 7 years before she can be eligible to join her parents!
this is all in place because of the family values of so many who have been in power for so long. they are not interested in preserving the family -
unless it is the kind of family they want it to be; these are the people who have a 50%+ divorce rate, who have stopped equality in many ways and forms, and who are not just verbally homophobic but silently racist, against all people of color, and decry the loss of their whiteness in hushed whispers.
and who claim to be christians – b***sh**!
Call on Congress to Support These 60Immigration Equality has an easy-to-use online action page which allows you to find your Representatives, and send them a message urging their support for LGBT-inclusive immigration reform. To take action, and call on your Member to support the 60 who have already stood up for LGBT binational families, just click on http://tinyurl.com/yf2g9n7.
The list of the 60is posted at http://immigrationequality.org… . And an action alert calling on your members of Congress to cosponsor UAFA and include LGBT families in comprehensive immigration reform is at http://org2.democracyinaction….
UAFA Now or NeverI believe we missed a critical opportunity- June 03, 2009 to get UAFA pushed as a stand alone. This letter by the Caucus is in direct response to the fact that we are about to be excluded by Senator Schumer form (CIR)comprehensive immigration reform, just like we were by Guiterrez in the House Bill.
Immigration equality took us along the CIR path which has as I predicted in my posts last year starting July, 2009, had the effect of shooting us in the toe. We could not pursue UAFA as a stand- alone Bill. The argument was and remains it could never pass as a stand alone. Well how can anyone say that if they have not gone to the nth degree to try. CIR got in the way and remains in the way.
This letter by the caucus is timed right after I broke the news on lezgetreal that Schumer is not planning on including us. Immigration Equality’s Rachel Tiven, Steve Ralls (who I suspect wrote the above press release) and Julie Kruse knew this a month ago and have still yet to inform donors and te public.
http://lezgetreal.com/?p=25829
Now I still believe that CIR will never happen. I still believe that President Obama cannot risk another health care debacle in an election year and then guess what – we may not have our same numbers in Congress.
That said NOW ought to be a very fast quick last ditch effort to double the support for UAFA as a stand alone Bill. NOW – but the effort is not there – not on the part of our so called IE leadership who hold everything close to their own skirt, and nor by the grass root binationals, bar a few dedicated souls.
There is nothing to lose by going full steam for UAFA – because the more sponsors we have , the more chance if not enacted on its own, that we become necessary and thus acceptable for a future CIR.
Do not tell me UAFA as a stand- alone is not possible. I do believe there is not enough traction yet in in Congress, but I believe there can be – Do not tell me no; certainly not those of you who told me I could not get a Private Bill introduced for Shirley Tan and that I was wasting my time!!!
Melanie Nathan. From, http://lezgetreal.com/?p=26184
http://lezgetreal.com/?cat=5029
i’m wondering the same thingi’m wondering about the same thing, who actually signed the letter. oral candidiasis
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aboutSusan, wouldn’t you agree that it really isn’t a case of leftist ideology or all must have prizes or cultural Marxism.
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ThanksYeah send them an email and thanks them. Also thanks for the link posted. Larry, bladder infection symptoms
Bladder Infection SPAM Another valued registered user has been added to the rolls.
LGBT Equality CaucusI think that it is a great bill to reunite families because nothing is more important than families instant affiliate paydays