Congress, Priorities and Immigration Reform
By Steve Ralls on 06/17/2010 @ 01:26 PM
In the midst of the BP oil spill, the fight for financial reform and other legislative issues, many of you have been wondering: What happens with immigration reform – and the Uniting American Families Act – now?
In the days immediately following Arizona’s passage of its anti-immigrant law, Congress and the White House turned its attention to comprehensive reform . . . and LGBT families, for the first time ever, were included in the framework for that reform. That success moved us immeasurably forward in our efforts to end discrimination against LGBT binational families. In fact, it is not an understatement to say that it was a game-changer. For the first time ever, our seat at the table was undisputed, and our inclusion in a bill was expected.
Then, oil started gushing in the gulf, and Washington’s famously short attention span seemed to turn to other matters.
That, however, is not the end of the story.
Last week, Senator Schumer told immigration reform supporters in New York that he still believes comprehensive reform can be tackled in this Congress. If not, Schumer said, he remained confident that a bill could be passed no later than March 2011.
We know, however, that for families who are separated, every day can seem like an eternity. That’s why none of us at Immigration Equality have ever taken passage of a particular bill for granted. And its why we have always pursued every possible avenue for success, and will continue to do so.
All of us remain committed to including LGBT families in comprehensive reform, and as long as our champions in Congress are standing strong in their pledge to introduce and pass a bill, we will stand with them. But we will continue to build support for the Uniting American Families Act as well, because both campaigns help each other. Should comprehensive reform move, it is critical that we have the co-sponsors, and supporters, to show the breadth and depth of support for our families . . . and to make their inclusion in the comprehensive bill a priority. At the same, building those supporters is also critical for ensuring that, should Congress decide in the future to tackle stand-alone bills, we can demonstrate the momentum and support to make the UAFA a priority for lawmakers.
That two pronged strategy ensures that, whatever the political landscape is moving forward, we have built the case for moving legislation that ends discrimination against our families. Our commitment remains to be ready to take advantage of every possible avenue for success.
The coming weeks and months will no doubt bring more changes to Capitol Hill. The Immigration Equality team has a plan in place, however, to continue our fight for victory throughout those changes, and take advantage of the opportunities that are presented by each scenario. We can – and will – push for a legislative win in every possible way, whether through the UAFA or its inclusion in comprehensive reform. The stakes are too high to leave any stone unturned.
LGBT Rights Groups, and Allies, Join Outcry on Anti-Immigrant Measure in Arizona
Posted on 06/07/2010 @ 02:17 PM
More than 20 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality groups and allies today issued the following joint statement:
Arizona’s S.B. 1070 takes the state down a path that will lead to racial profiling, discrimination and anti-immigrant extremism. We stand in solidarity with other individuals, organizations and local governments in rejecting the misrepresentation of immigrants put forth in this unjust and ill-conceived measure.
S.B. 1070 essentially declares an entire class of people to be inherently criminal on the basis of their race and appearance. The consequences of S.B. 1070 are grave and troubling: the inevitability of racial profiling and infringement of civil liberties; the strong probability of violence and harassment against individuals and their families; and the reversal of progress toward creating a more inclusive society.
We also note that this bill was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer, the same governor who last year stripped away earned health insurance benefits from the same-sex domestic partners of state employees. Brewer’s actions as governor demonstrate, at best, callous indifference — and at worst, willful malice — toward immigrants and LGBT people alike.
All Arizona families — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight — have reason to be alarmed. The state’s new law threatens to tear apart families, separate children from their parents and rip apart loving couples who are building their lives together. The LGBT community knows all too well how easily people who “look different” or “act different” can be singled out for harassment and persecution. LGBT immigrants will be doubly vulnerable under this law, which gives license to discriminate.
We are united in our determination to stand for political and legislative change that will ensure just treatment of immigrants, people of color, and all people in Arizona. Such justice requires the repeal of S.B. 1070 and the passage and implementation of comprehensive federal immigration reform.
Today we join with groups such as Service Employees International Union, League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian American Justice Center, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Council of La Raza, National Action Network, the National Puerto Rican Coalition, and many others in the boycott against the state of Arizona until S.B. 1070 is repealed, overturned by the courts, or superseded by comprehensive federal immigration reform.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund
Human Rights Campaign
GLAAD
Immigration Equality
National Black Justice Coalition
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
International Foundation for Gender Education
Family Equality Council
Two Spirit Press Room
Equality Federation
National Minority AIDS Council
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce®
Freedom to Marry
Gay Men’s Health Crisis
Lambda Legal
BiNet USA
International Federation of Black Prides, Inc.
Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals
UNID@S
SAGE
Atticus Circle
National Center for Lesbian Rights
SHA10 tickets are still on sale! Join us!
Posted on 06/06/2010 @ 07:17 PM
We’re less than a few nights away from Immigration Equality’s annual Safe Haven Awards, featuring best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love and Committed) and Gregory C. Simon, Senior V.P. of Worldwide Policy for Pfizer.
There’s still time to buy your tickets online, and join us as we celebrate our allies and toast pro bono partners who have made a life-saving difference in the lives of LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and their families.
If you haven’t already done so, reserve your tickets today and plan to join us on Tuesday, June 8th at the AXA Equitable Center on 7th Avenue in New York City. The evening kicks off with a welcome reception at 6:30, followed by our awards ceremony — and Elizabeth Gilbert’s keynote address — at 7:30pm.
If you bought multiple tickets, your guest list can be emailed to Win by this Friday, June 4th.
In addition to a wonderful evening of inspiring stories from our allies, you’ll also have an opportunity to bid on unique auction items that directly support our work to end discrimination against LGBT immigrant families. This year’s one-of-a-kind auction items include:
- An opportunity to underwrite the Immigration Equality Action Fund’s new online advocacy center (Opening Bid: $1,500)
- A bow tie and style consultation from the dapper shopkeepers of FineandDandyShop.com, a binational couple-owned design shop (Opening Bid: $500)
- Underwriting a one-hour, detailed intake for a prospective asylum seeker who has turned to Immigration Equality for help ($95 per intake sponsorship)
Every winning bid – and every ticket sold – will be directed to the Immigration Equality Action Fund and put to immediate use in support of our work to end discrimination against LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and their families.
Have you ‘committed’ to joining the fight? To get started, click here and reserve your tickets (for pick up at the door) now. We all look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday night.
Join us in NYC, DC, or LA for Pride!
By Christopher Edwards on 06/01/2010 @ 10:28 AM
Each June, our community comes together to remember (and celebrate) those who have fought for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Pride month marks our long struggle for equality.
This year, Immigration Equality supporters will march in pride parades in Washington, DC, New York City, and Los Angeles. Together, we are building support for immigration reform that helps all families, including LGBT families, too.
Please join us on June 12 in Washington … June 13 in Los Angeles … and June 27 in New York City. RSVP on Facebook or email me directly if you have questions about participating in DC or NYC. If you’re in LA, Charlie Gu is our contingent coordinator and would love to have your help. Please email him with questions regarding our presence there.
Join us this Pride season as our families tell congress to pass LGBT-inclusive immigration reform.
Gutierrez Says “No Future CIR bill without UAFA”
By Julie Kruse on 05/27/2010 @ 07:56 PM
At a press conference Monday in Chicago, Congressman Luis Gutierrez reiterated his call from last week that moving forward, any comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation must include the Uniting American Families Act. He stressed that any future CIR bill must include UAFA when it is introduced. Congressmen Jared Polis and Mike Quigley joined him at the podium, urging inclusive reform. Several local Chicago LGBT and immigration organizations stood with them, and members of binational couples told their family stories. Local LGBT officials including Alderman Tom Tunney and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Debra Shore also attended.
After the press conference, Immigration Equality met with several of the Chicago binational families and organizations who attended the event, including Association of Latino Men for Action (ALMA), Amigas Latinas, Dyke March organizers promoting the Dream Act, the National Immigrant Justice Center, Lambda Legal, the Latino Policy Forum, and others, to discuss the actions they are taking to promote LGBT inclusion in and support for immigration reform.
These groups and individuals meet regularly in Chicago to coordinate strategy. Their activism with members of Congress, in the Chicago City Council which recently passed a resolution in favor of UAFA, and in the streets is impressive. They serve as an inspiring example of the grassroots efforts across the country to win LGBT immigrant rights.
Congressman Gutierrez repeated his support for gay and lesbian immigrant families in a segment on Telemundo which also featured New York couple Jeff and Arturo and Lambda Legal’s Francisco Duenas.
Be Committed
By Gilbert Elizabeth on 05/27/2010 @ 05:35 PM
Throughout my travels around the world, I’ve discovered just how magical — and unexpectedly easy — it can be to fall in love. What is even more surprising, though, is just how difficult it can be for some to keep their families together. Whether you meet your soul mate in Brazil, or in your own backyard — and whether they happen to be the same gender as you, or not — should not matter. But under our country’s current immigration system, it unfortunately still does. That’s just not right.
It is time to change our immigration laws and honor the love and commitment of all of our families by making it possible for them to be together.
I hope you will join me at Immigration Equality’s Safe Haven Awards, on June 8th in New York City as we raise awareness, and funds, to end the unconscionable discrimination lesbian and gay binational families face under our current immigration system. I am proud to keynote this year’s ceremony, which also supports Immigration Equality’s critical legal services work on behalf of LGBT immigrants, asylum seekers and detainees.
This cause is personal for me. As many of you know, my own partner was detained at the U.S. border when he returned to the United States with me. No couple — and no family — should face separation or exile because of who they love. It is unacceptable that our government should do anything but work to ensure loving families remain together. Instead, it is tearing them apart.
That is why we must take action today. And it is why I am so proud to keynote this year’s event.
If you purchase a VIP ticket today, or join our host committee for the event, I’ll also be happy to present you with a signed copy of my book, Committed, about my own experience as one half of a binational couple. And I promise you an unforgettable evening of fellow travelers who are equally committed to celebrating our love, honoring our families and fixing our broken immigration system.
I know, first hand, what this fight for equality means to so many of you. I am committed to standing with you and supporting Immigration Equality’s work to end this injustice.
I hope you will join us on June 8th, and “be committed,” too.
In Wisconsin & The Netherlands, A Couple Waits for Inclusive Immigration Reform
Posted on 05/27/2010 @ 09:50 AM
The Capital Times, in Madison, WI, profiles a local couple separated by discriminatory immigration laws.
Copyright © Photo by Mike DeVries, The Capital Times
They met when Joey came home to find Gabi – in Madison from the Netherlands for the wedding of a mutual friend – sitting on the doorstep of her east-side townhouse, where Joey was helping put up out-of-town guests.
The attraction was immediate. After Gabi headed home, the pair continued communicating by e-mail, then visited back and forth. As the relationship deepened, the couple knew they wanted to be together. They married in April in Iowa, where same-sex marriage has been legal for the past year.
Joey Johannsen recalls that she thought at first that it would be simple to have Gabi Helfert come live with her. Then she began researching the “alphabet soup” of U.S. visas (most often referred to by initials), and the realities of U.S. immigration law began to sink in. “It’s pretty complicated,” says Helfert, a German citizen who has been living the past several years in the Netherlands, where she works as a project manager at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University.
The bottom line is this: Americans cannot sponsor a same-sex partner who is a foreigner for permanent residency in the United States, an option open to heterosexual couples in one of the least complicated and surest ways to attain the much sought “green card.” Even same-sex couples who are married do not have that right, because the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Federal law does not recognize same-sex marriages, so the immigration privileges extended to married couples do not apply.
The inability to sponsor a same-sex partner is an inequity that activists are hoping will be eradicated in any immigration reform legislation that eventually emerges in Congress. Some observers say that a provision eliminating the disparity, by injecting the controversial issue of same-sex marriage to the already controversial issue of immigration, would not likely survive what is sure to be a heated debate on immigration reform.
“I was in disbelief,” Johannsen says, of her eventual realization that there was no way for her to sponsor her partner to come to the United States permanently. “My mom asks: ‘Why doesn’t Gabi move here?’ I tell her that’s what we would love to happen.” The women juggle their schedules to fit in daily Internet video calls across an ocean and a seven-hour time difference, as they’ve researched other options.
Bi-national same-sex couples have relied on tourist visas and other temporary provisions to be together in the United States and never have had a basis to sponsor their partners, says Steve Ralls of Immigration Equality, a New York-based advocacy group focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and HIV-positive communities. That’s why it is so significant that a conceptual plan for comprehensive immigration reform floated by U.S. Senate Democrats includes the core provision of the Uniting American Families Act, a bill introduced last year that would extend to same-sex couples the immigration rights afforded to married couples. “That’s a breakthrough. It is a strong signal, we believe, that the leadership is committed to including it when a bill is introduced,” says Ralls.
Pressure for immigration reform surged this spring after the passage of a controversial law in Arizona that would make failure to carry immigration papers a crime and give police broad powers to detain anyone suspected of being illegally in the country. “The Senate has realized the power the gay and lesbian grass roots movement can bring to the passage of an immigration reform bill,” Ralls says.
To continue reading the full story, click here.
Photo by Mike DeVries, The Capital Times
Welcome to Immigration Equality Action Fund’s home on the web!
By Rachel Tiven on 05/21/2010 @ 01:57 PM
Welcome to Immigration Equality Action Fund’s home on the web!
Our new Action Fund site gives you the tools to speak directly to your members of Congress about ending discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender immigrants and families.
Getting started is easy. Beginning today, you can take action right here on the new site. When you do, you’ll be signed up to receive future actions and stay up-to-date on our work in Washington. By entering your information, you’ll give us what we need to keep you updated on issues related to your specific state and Congressional district. We’ll keep you informed about your Congresspeople’s positions on our issues, and let you know about local news coverage and events in your area, too.
If you are already signed up for Immigration Equality action alerts, sign up here too. You won’t receive duplicates, and you’ll get the most up-to-date information.
There’s one more thing you can do: tell us your story. The most important tool we have to sway our lawmakers and our communities is the stories of those who are directly impacted by discriminatory immigration laws. If you are part of a binational couple, please be sure to use our new, online form to share your story with us. We frequently call upon families to share their stories with the media, Members of Congress and other key decision-makers. We will never release your story publicly without first contacting you. However, having families available to talk about their experiences is a critical component of our media and public education campaigns. (If you have shared your story in the past, you do not need to resubmit.)
We are at a turning point in our work to end discrimination against LGBT immigrant families. That’s why your involvement is so important . . . and it’s why we’ve launched the Immigration Equality Action Fund. Together, we can win this victory for our families.
Rachel B. Tiven, Esq.
Executive Director
P.S.: Immigration Equality continues to offer vital, free legal services. For information on our advice and referral network for binational couples, help with the end of the HIV ban, and services for LGBT asylum-seekers, please visit www.immigrationequality.org.
WCT Profiles Julie Kruse
Posted on 05/19/2010 @ 04:34 PM
This week’s Windy City Times – Chicago’s LGBT weekly – profiles Immigration Equality’s policy director, Julie Kruse (pictured), who spent years honing her policy skills while working with progressive Illinois advocacy groups.
“Kruse came to the organization with a long background in activism behind her,” the paper reports. “After obtaining a master’s degree in education from Northwestern University, she was involved with Chicago-based social-justice groups, including, she said, community organizations in Humboldt Park and Pilsen, Chicago Women in Trades and the Center for Economic Progress, where she was Director of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships. Kruse also served on the Illinois Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women.”
“I really do feel my work here connects with my work back there,” Kruse said. “I learned everything I’ve learned in Chicago.” Though she lives in Washington, D.C., Kruse said, she visits Chicago often: it’s where her partner lives.
Throughout the course of her political education, Kruse said, she became convinced of the importance of political lobbying. “You can’t create any social change without policy change,” she said.
Ongoing lobbying efforts by Immigration Equality, as well as other LGBT organizations, were apparent earlier this year when one of the organization’s major political goals was achieved: After two decades, a ban on immigration to the United States by HIV-positive people was lifted. Though the initial decision to change the rule had been signaled two years earlier by then-President George W. Bush, the full repeal of the ban depended on regulatory changes finally enacted by President Barack Obama.
With partner organizations, Immigration Equality has also lobbied for the inclusion of same-sex binational couples in any comprehensive immigration reform package considered by Congress. LGBT groups want to see provisions for same-sex partners to be able to sponsor one another for U.S. citizenship, an option currently available only married opposite-sex couples. The centerpiece of this legislative push has been the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) , provisions of which were recently included in the immigration reform framework set forth by the Sens. Schumer, Menendez, and Reid.
“It’s extremely exciting that for the first time ever, our community has been included in a comprehensive immigration-reform bill,” Kruse said. “It’s a complete game-changer. We’ve gone from [being] supplicants to being included.”
Immigration Equality to Receive 2010 Harmony Award from Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington
By Steve Ralls on 05/13/2010 @ 03:25 PM
On Saturday evening, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will honor Immigration Equality with its “Harmony Award.” The GMCW is one of Washington’s most respected, and admired, arts institutions, and recently performed at President Obama’s inaugural festivities.
All of us at Immigration Equality are honored, and proud, to be receiving this award, and will be on-hand for Saturday’s evening’s ceremony.
This year’s event, titled A Night in Venice, features live and silent auctions, dinner, live entertainment from members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, a presentation to 2010 Harmony Award Honorees, and is followed by an after-party Carnevale and dessert, reflecting this year’s Venetian theme.
The GMCW Harmony Award recognizes individuals and organizations that exemplify the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s mission to “affirm the place of gay people in society.” Previous recipients have included Hon. Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor, District of Columbia; The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit , GLBT community activists Peter D. Rosenstein and Frank Kameny; the Washington, DC, Chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG); The Mautner Project, the National Lesbian Health Organization; Food & Friends; Councilmember David Catania; and the international law firm of Holland & Knight.
Other honorees for the evening include John Berry, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Deacon Maccubbin and Jim Bennett, founders of Washington’s legendary Lambda Rising bookstore; and Jeff Buhrman, artistic director of the Gay Men’s Chorus.
Tickets for A Night in Venice are still available, and can be purchased at the GMCW website.
The Journey Home
By Steve Ralls on 05/13/2010 @ 09:34 AM
Judy Rickard said the news made her cry.
The California resident, who had been traveling through Europe for six months after being forced to leave her home in the United States, was sitting in the terminal at JFK airport on April 29th. She had just made it through customs and spent a harrowing few hours waiting for her British partner – who was returning to the U.S. with her – to be granted entry as well. Judy, who cannot sponsor Karin for residency under current U.S. immigration law, was pacing and worrying that her partner was not emerging from the customs questioning area.
Then, Karin appeared and Judy breathed her first sigh of relief. The two would be able to remain together, on U.S. soil, for another six months, before leaving again.
A year earlier, Judy took early retirement from her job so she could leave her own country in order to keep her family intact. Because Judy and Karin are a lesbian couple, Judy has no ability to keep her partner in the country, as straight Americans are able to do. Instead, Karin stays in the United States for half of each year. Then, when her visa forces her to leave, Judy packs up and leaves with her. It has made building a home together, to say the least, a little difficult.
So the news on April 29th was a very big deal for both of them.
Safely settled in the JFK terminal, Judy went looking for an internet connection. When she logged on, the headline stood out on her laptop screen like a neon “welcome home” sign.
“Senate Immigration Reform Principles Include Lesbian and Gay Families.”
That’s when Judy emailed me to say she had started to cry.
Continue reading ‘The Journey Home’ at Ambiente Magazine . . .
Safe Haven Awards: Announcing our 2010 Honorees!
By Rachel Tiven on 05/12/2010 @ 05:03 PM
Invitations to the Safe Haven Awards are arriving this week. If you haven’t done so already, please mark your calendars for Tuesday June 8th, and buy your tickets today!
Author Elizabeth GilbertWe’re especially excited to be joined by this year’s headliner: New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert (pictured), whose book Eat, Pray, Love is currently being turned into a film starring Julia Roberts. Her new book Committed chronicles her experience as the American half of a binational couple.
This year’s event promises to be our best ever! Last year, more than 400 attendees raised nearly $200,000. In the same year, Immigration Equality’s hotline answered more than 1,700 inquiries and won a record 76 asylum cases for LGBT people fleeing violence and persecution in their home country.
This year’s awards will honor five pro bono firms for their outstanding service to LGBT immigrants and their families. Our Safe Haven Awards honorees include:
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which stood out for the high volume of cases it took on – and started winning! – in its very first year in Immigration Equality’s pro bono program. Kirkland formalized its LGBT Asylum Project as a firmwide program in partnership with Immigration Equality in 2009, taking on seven different cases and providing more than $750,000 in pro bono services last year alone.
- Paul Weiss, which has continued its record of excellence since 2004, when it accepted its first case for a gay, HIV-positive Jamaican man. The firm currently has six more challenging cases pending, in addition to significant wins for Immigration Equality clients in 2007 and 2008.
- Linklaters, which joined Immigration Equality’s pro bono program one year ago and took on — and won — six cases, including asylum for a gay man from Uzbekistan and two gay men from Trinidad who all had challenging one-year filing deadline issues. The firm also won asylum for a gay man from Jamaica, a gay man from Paraguay and a lesbian from Botswana.
- Ropes & Gray, which won asylum for ten Immigration Equality clients in 2009 — more than any other firm. Their victories included asylum for a lesbian from India, a gay HIV-positive Jamaican and his son, a gay HIV-positive Ghanaian in proceedings, a gay Ukrainian, and a gay man from Dominica.
We will also be honoring Fragomen with our “Defender of Freedom Award,” for devoting hundreds of hours to tireless legislative research and analysis in support of Immigration Equality’s advocacy for binational families.
All of these champions have literally made all the difference in the world for the Immigration Equality clients they have represented. I hope you’ll join me in saluting them on June 8th.
Invitations to the Safe Haven Awards should be in mailboxes soon. If you didn’t receive one, you can RSVP, reserving your spot for this year’s event, by purchasing your tickets online. Just click here to buy tickets, or join our host committee.
Your generous support will be put to immediate use in our work to end discrimination against LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and their families.
To reserve your spot for this incredible evening, please visit us online today. I look forward to seeing you in New York on June 8th.
The View From New York
By Rachel Tiven on 05/10/2010 @ 06:29 PM
Growing up, when the evening news reported a crime committed by a Goldberg or a Cohen, my parents would groan. That combination of shame at the misdeeds of one of our own, mixed with anxiety that it would reflect badly on us all, flooded over me when I heard that an immigrant had been arrested in the Times Square bombing.
We are on the cusp of real immigration reform, and accusatory headlines like “Suspect is Naturalized U.S. Citizen” feel like a knife in the back. We all need reform so desperately – everyone from the gay man who is spending his life savings to keep his partner in school here, to the teenager who grew up and came out in the Bay Area but can’t go to college or get a job for lack of status, to the single lesbian mom who has been waiting years for her sister to immigrate and help her raise her son – to the millions of other people with whom we share this struggle.
I want to believe that most Americans – 98% of us once immigrants ourselves – are not so foolish as to conflate the actions of one crazy individual with all immigrants, or all South Asians, or all Pakistanis . . . but when I read the vicious comments online, I’m not so sure.
What a roller coaster week. Just yesterday I was so proud Governor Patterson showed that pro-immigrant states can play Arizona’s game. He announced that New York will create a special pardon board to consider vacating minor crimes that can cost long-time New Yorkers their green cards, with absolutely no way for the immigration judge to exercise discretion. Immigration Equality sees the results of this policy because it affects some of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people we represent.
- We represented a gay, HIV-positive man who was going to be deported because after the bank mistakenly deposited money in his account, he spent it. He was charged with grand larceny and was going to be stripped of his green card and deported to an anti-gay country.
- L., a Colombian gay man with AIDS was about to lose his green card because of shoplifting arrests. He stole Tylenol and nutritional supplements from a drugstore – the only “treatment” he was getting for his illness.
- We are currently representing F., a 19-year-old from Jamaica who may be deported for shoplifting a scarf – because he was cold – and jumping the subway turnstile. For those two offenses he was considered a “mandatory detainee” who was held in immigration custody until we took his case.
I want to be clear – it’s wrong to steal, be it from the bank, a store, or the MTA. I hope that when my kids are F.’s age, the fog of adolescent bad judgment doesn’t lead them to do stupid things like that. However, if they do, they won’t be exiled from their country as a result. One of the many great things about our system is that we believe in proportionality, that the punishment should suit the crime. The Eighth Amendment protects all of us against excessive or cruel and unusual punishment. (Please don’t write to say that non-citizens aren’t covered by the Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments tell the federal government – not its subjects – what it can and can’t do. Citizenship wasn’t even defined until six amendments and 90 years later.) When current law wrenches people from their families for petty crimes – in many cases retroactively, for crimes that had no immigration consequences at all when they were committed – the Eighth Amendment is being ignored. Thus Governor Patterson offers another, this time humane, example of what so many have been saying for weeks: Congress must act to fix our broken immigration system.
In the meanwhile, I fear for my South Asian friends, and pray we don’t see a resurgence of the murderous hate crimes their community faced after 9/11.
AIDS Walk NY: Walking the walk with the Immigration Equality HIV Ban Busters Team
By Christopher Edwards on 05/04/2010 @ 09:30 PM
Against the backdrop of the raging HIV epidemic and resulting policy debate, Immigration Equality was founded as a response to a very specific kind of scapegoating of people with HIV/AIDS: the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban, which specifically singled out persons living with HIV as unwelcome visitors and immigrants. We have worked tireless since 1994 to counter the perspective that people with HIV were pariahs, that HIV/AIDS was a disease that disqualified automatically people from entering the country. Every day, our legal team answer urgent questions from individuals, families and attorneys of those about 22% are HIV-related. We have been on the frontline of the disease from our first days.
In 2010 our work paid off, the ban was finally lifted. Now that we’ve ended the HIV ban, we must work to end HIV.
Enter our Immigration Equality HIV Ban Busters team for the 2010 AIDS Walk NY. Our staff, friends and clients are all joining as we work to raise money for NY-based HIV services organizations beginning with NY’s legendary GMHC. And we need your help. We’d like you to walk with us. You can register here at our team page. We’ve set a goal of recruiting 30 people. We are on our way. Please walk with us May 16th.
Today I’ve been highlighting on @IEquality statistics on HIV in New York. To recap some of the more harrowing numbers: right now, more than 100,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV and thousands don’t know they are infected. According to the NYC Department of Health, New York city has more AIDS cases than Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Washington DC — combined. It’s not hyperbole then of them to the say that New York City “remains the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.“
Digging deeper into these numbers, HIV/AIDS affects minority communities at a more disproportional rate than any other public health crisis. More than 80% of all new AiDS diagnosis are within the African Americans and Hispanics. The death rate from AIDS is 9 times higher for black women, 6 times higher black men, and 4 times higher for Hispanics than comparable groups of whites. If we look at NYC and Manhattan statistics certain things stand out too: 1 in 26 men living in Manhattan are HIV positive, 1 in 40 African Americans in all of NYC are HIV positive, and black men 40-49 are particularly hard hit citywide and especially in Manhattan.
If you are unable to walk, we welcome your sponsorship of our team. You can also sponsor our team at our team page. Either way, you’ll be helping to make sure that HIV prevention and healthcare services continue their reach in NYC.
Together we beat the HIV ban, together we can beat HIV.
Join Us on SistersTalk Radio: Wednesday @ 8pm ET
By Steve Ralls on 05/03/2010 @ 04:03 PM
Immigration Equality’s executive director, Rachel Tiven, will join SistersTalk Radio this Wednesday at 8pm ET to discuss all things immigration-related: Arizona’s new anti-immigrant law . . . the new, LGBT-inclusive immigration reform outline . . . and our work to help LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants, families and asylum seekers.
To tune in live – or sign up to receive a reminder about Wednesday’s broadcast – just click here.
UPDATE: Audio from the broadcast is now available online here.
Senate Immigration Framework Includes LGBT Binational Families
By Steve Ralls on 04/29/2010 @ 02:58 PM
A framework for comprehensive immigration reform, authored by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), includes a call for an end to discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) binational families. The principles, which are meant to guide Congressional crafting of immigration reform legislation, specifically call for key provisions of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) to be part of a future reform bill.
Immigration Equality hailed the inclusion of the language, which would allow LGBT citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor their foreign national partners for residency in the United States. Under current law, no such sponsorship is available. An estimated 36,000 face imminent separation or exile because of discriminatory immigration policies. UAFA is sponsored in the Senate by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and in the House by Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York.
“Today’s inclusive framework is an historic step forward for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender binational families,” said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality. “Now, it is time to turn these principles into laws. We will fight to ensure that the Uniting American Families Act is an indelible part of the immigration reform bill.”
“The LGBT community is committed to comprehensive immigration reform that includes everyone,” Tiven added. “Our community understands, all too well, the pain of being punished and singled out for who we are. Our solidarity with the larger immigrant community is deep, and our resolve to fix our broken immigration system is real. We will work for a bill that provides a path to citizenship for the undocumented, including those who are LGBT. Time is of the essence for those facing separation or deportation, and Congress must act, urgently, to pass humane, comprehensive reform.”
Immigration Equality also applauded the inclusion of the DREAM Act – a path to citizenship for undocumented students – in the principles released today. Earlier this week, DREAM activists who have walked from Florida arrived in the nation’s capital. Two of them, Juan Rodriguez and Felipe Matos, are also a couple, and have faced additional discrimination because of their sexual orientation. The outline also includes important provisions related to family unification, including ending the unconscionable backlogs that so many families face under the current system.
The group expressed dismay, however, over a proposal to implement a de-facto program for National ID Cards. Such a proposal, known as biometric identification, could be particularly troublesome for transgender immigrants, who struggle to get identity documents which match their correct name and gender.
“Immigration Equality,” Tiven concluded, “is working for a bill that protects LGBT immigrants who so desperately need reform. The path forward is about keeping families together and building a system that values our country’s unique and precious history as a nation of immigrants.”
This Saturday: Immigration Reform Rallies From Coast-to-Coast
By Steve Ralls on 04/28/2010 @ 08:34 PM
This Saturday, in cities and towns across the country, immigration rights supporters will march, rally and call on Congress to pass fair and humane comprehensive immigration reform. All of us at Immigration Equality urge our supporters to join our allies and bring a visible, supportive LGBT presence to this weekend’s activities.
From New York and Washington, to Phoenix and Los Angeles, these marches will send a strong, clear message that we support comprehensive reform for all families . . . and stand against divisive tactics and laws that tear our loved ones apart and endanger their safety.
To find a march near you, click here. Then, show up on Saturday with an Immigration Equality shirt (if you have one), or a rainbow flag, and stand in solidarity with those who are working to fix our broken immigration system.
For more information, visit Reform Immigration for America online.
Immigration Equality Condemns Arizona Immigration Law
By Rachel Tiven on 04/28/2010 @ 12:31 PM
The following statement was issued by Immigration Equality’s executive director, Rachel Tiven.
“Immigration Equality joins immigrants, families and allies in Arizona and around the country in condemning the state’s new anti-immigrant law. The law is unjust, unconstitutional and unconscionable. Everyone of every ethnicity, faith, and sexual orientation should be concerned and appalled that a state has criminalized human beings based on who they are.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community knows all too well how easily people who “look different” can be singled out for harassment and prosecution. In addition, LGBT immigrant families are too familiar with the double burden of immigration discrimination. Now Arizona’s LGBT families have yet another reason to be alarmed. The state’s new law threatens to tear apart families, separate children from their parents and rip apart loving couples who are building their lives together. Forty percent of LGBT binational couples in the United States include a Latino family member. For them, and their loved ones, Arizona is now the most dangerous place in America.
We are confident our courts will strike down this heinous law, and stand in solidarity with all of those who are working for its demise. The need for comprehensive immigration reform that protects all families has never been more urgent, and we are working every day to make it a reality.”
The New York Times on Tough Citizenship Questions for Binational Couples
By Steve Ralls on 04/28/2010 @ 09:27 AM
How many LGBT binational couples are moving abroad, and even renouncing their citizenship, because of the hurdles they face staying together in the United States?
It’s a question posed yesterday at the Bucks blog at The New York Times. Writer Tara Siegel Bernard follows up on an October story, also in the Times, by pointing out that many readers responded to the original story on the extra costs of being in an LGBT relationship by pointing out that they, in fact, faced even more obstacles, and expenses, simply to be with the person they love.
“Try being a bi-national gay couple,” one reader, Megan, wrote to the paper. “We have paid over $70,000 to be together. My partner is Indian and I am American and yet we have to live in Canada if we are to be together.”
Indeed, as couples find that their options – and time – for being able to remain together in the U.S. run out, they are increasingly leaving the United States . . . and taking their talent and tax money to other countries with them. The Times noted that 743 people renounced their U.S. citizenship last year, not including the Americans (many in binational relationships) who are now living in Canada but retain their citizenship in the United States.
“Many same-sex couples who decide to leave the United States head for countries that recognize their unions,” Bernard writes, adding that, “many leave because of immigration obstacles.”
“What choices do couples with noncitizen partners have,” she asks, “and what are the costs?”
To read the full column, click here. http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/do-gay-couples-give-up-their-u-s-citizenship/
New York City Council Calls for LGBT-Inclusive CIR
By Rachel Tiven on 04/27/2010 @ 09:09 AM
I was proud to testify on Monday morning in front of the New York City Council’s Immigration Committee. The Committee had proposed a resolution calling on Congress – and in particular New York’s own senior Senator, Chuck Schumer – to move forward with Comprehensive Immigration Reform that includes all families.
I described the consequences of immigration discrimination faced by tens of thousands of LGBT families – including at least 5,000 New York couples. The Committee heard from many other excellent immigration advocates, including: NYC’s Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, Fatima Shama; NYCLU’s Udi Ofer; Nerissa Kunakemakorn of Opportunity Agenda; Afton Branch from Drum Major Insitute; plus other wonderful colleagues from Make the Road New York, the New York LGBT Center, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, and longtime gay activist Brendan Fay, among others.
The Committee approved the resolution, which goes to the full City Council on Wednesday.