|
|||||
 (No Ratings Yet) Link to petition: http://tinyurl.com/42nvcrf Out4Immigration (O4I) is an all grassroots organization. Because of DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act), Americans in same-gender relationships with foreign partners have no right to sponsor those partners for legal residency in the US. In O4I’s ongoing efforts to change this condition, this is our first petition of the 112th Congress asking Representatives and Senators to support equal immigration rights for Same-Sex Binational couples by becoming cosponsors of the Uniting American Families Act (or UAFA, House Bill 1537 and Senate Bill 821). While we badly need comprehensive immigration reform in the US, and this has historically been the vehicle through which we’ve expected UAFA to pass, we have also seen an acknowledgment at last on the Federal level that our families are facing injustice. In February of this year, following federal court rulings that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, President Obama announced that the Justice Department would no longer defend that law in court. As a result, for an all-too brief period at the end of March, the US Customs and Immigration Service put in abeyance deportation cases of foreign, same-sex partners of Americans. While the legal guidance supported continued enforcement of DOMA, this brief acknowledgment that DOMA discriminates represents a major turning point in the quest to right this wrong. It is time to demand that equal protection extend to our families—and all families–in all matters related to immigration! In the 111th Congress we had a record 161 cosponsors for this bill, though it never made it out of committee. While there is still much work to do, we are deeply grateful to the 119 Senators and Representatives who signed on at the bill’s reintroduction on April14. It is progress that this initial co-sponsorship is far higher than in any previous Congress where the bill has been introduced. The President, as well as Secretary Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security, will be named on every single petition we mount in this campaign. Additionally, we start our efforts this week targeting the four senators who have been past co-sponsors but have not yet signed on. By signing and promoting this petition, you will help us get them back on board (and Change.org also sends letters automatically to your own Congressional Representative and Senators by default)! We encourage you to take part in this campaign by using any of these options: (1) The easiest one. By clicking through and adding your name to this page, you will send ALL six of the letters AT ONCE. You can also provide the link to your friends and family to take action too, as well as promote on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites you may use; http://tinyurl.com/42nvcrf out4immigration.org
Legislation and Letter from Congress Increases Demand for Protection of Same-Sex Binational Couples, Families from Discriminatory Immigration Law Washington, DC — April 14, 2011 — The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) was reintroduced in the House and Senate today by long-time equal rights advocates Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The legislation is backed by 98 co-sponsors in the House and 18 in the Senate, a record for the bill on reintroduction. It has been introduced in every session of Congress since 2000. “Thousands of committed same-sex couples are needlessly suffering because of unequal treatment under our immigration laws, and this is an outrage,” said Nadler. “Our Constitution guarantees that no class of people will be singled out for differential treatment — and LGBT Americans should not and must not be excluded from that guarantee.” Adding a one-two punch to UAFA’s reintroduction is a letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice to stop denying LGBT green card applications and stop separating LGBT binational families. The letter was signed by 48 House members and adds weight to a similar letter sent last week by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and 11 of his colleagues requesting the same immediate remedy to what Rep. Nadler has repeatedly called “gratuitous cruelty.” UAFA comes into the 112th Congress under a much different landscape than previous introductions of the bill. While Democrats no longer control the House and hold a slimmer majority in the Senate, support for same-sex binationals has grown since President Obama’s directive on February 23 that the federal government stop defending Section 3 of DOMA on the basis that the law – which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages – is unconstitutional. No group is harder hit by DOMA than same-sex binational couples and their families, many who have been forced into exile or literally torn apart by immigration law that adheres to the DOMA decree that marriage is defined as “one man and one woman.” As a result, these couples, regardless of legal marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships are treated as “legal strangers”. Deportation cases targeting the foreign partner in these relationships have been winning temporary stays of late, as judges are deferring to the Obama directive that DOMA is unconstitutional. This caused a major uproar last month when the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated it would hold all such cases in abeyance until DOMA’s constitutionality was either formally upheld or overturned. Although USCIS reversed this decision within 36 hours, advocates for same-sex binationals, like Out4Immigration, are petitioning USCIS, the DHS and the White House to restore the abeyance policy, urging an administrative fix until judicial and legislative actions can occur. With advocacy engines now firing on all three branches of government – relief in some form for the heartbreak and injustice an estimated 36,000 same-sex binationals and their families incur has never seemed more possible. Out4Immigration urges more couples to come forward and tell their stories to continue to build and sustain the momentum. The all-volunteer, grassroots group can be contacted at [email protected]. # # # http://www.out4immigration.org
(No Ratings Yet) by Chris Barnett, cross-posted from Daily Kos and Out4Immigration’s blog This posting is dedicated to Gina, who is soon exiling herself from her home on the West Coast to be with her partner in the UK. We should be ashamed to let ourselves lose this good citizen as she does what she must for herself, and for love. For Americans in same-gender relationships with non-US citizens (or binationals as we refer to ourselves), the fight to try and secure the right to sponsor our partners for legal residency so that they can be with us in the US has been a long, and often dispiriting one. So it is not surprising that our community has been thrown into a tumult with word this week that the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) was considering the possible changes as to how our families are treated under the law, following the Administration’s recent change in stance re: DOMA. From Jennifer Vanasco at 365gay.com just two days ago:
Questions have been swirling because of course no one knows exactly what this meant, and in fact what seemed like potential for reprieve quickly went into backpedal mode, with emphasis on the fact that the abeyance would likely only endure short-term, as USCIS considered implications of the Administration’s stance and what that might mean for changes in policy. Yesterday, we found out that USCIS press secretary Christopher S. Bentley was stating:
Essentially, what we hoped would be an end to our partners being deported, seems like a crumb tossed out instead, and cruelly so. With the abeyance now lifted, the best binational couples can now hope for–especially those facing deportation proceedings–is case-by-case review. Still, it seems a door has cracked open, and this issue is coming into the public eye with much greater frequency and to a much greater degree than ever before. This is, I guess, a good thing–yet even so, Mr. Bentley states a falsehood, that there is no need to hold the cases any longer. The denial of the right of LGBT Americans to sponsor their foreign partners has severe consequences not only for the couples involved, but for all who love and count on them. It also inherently diminishes ALL of our families and relationships. In fact, the biased and misguided laws which penalize us for who we love–and by extension all those who love and count on us–are the main reason to hold these cases, in perpetuity! Currently, Americans in same-gender binational relationships have these choices: leave the country to live in one that acknowledges our families; try to maintain the relationships long distance, which frequently leads to a ban on our partners coming in to the country due to the federal government viewing them as overstay risks; be torn apart and give up the chance for the family we should all be so fortunate to find; or recognize that the law is afoul of our families, and relegate ourselves to the shadows to live with our undocumented partners. This situation must end! No one should have to give up being American in America, and all that means, because of who they love. Binationals have been working on this issue for years, as well as organizations like Out4Immigration, and others. Much of the focus in this effort has been on the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), a bill which would open family reunification to LGBT people and their loved ones. Stop the Deportations/The DOMA Project is also a good place to follow day-by-day developments as the terrain continues to shift. While recent developments bring up more questions than answers, what is clearly and quickly emerging is that the time to lobby policy makers only has passed, and we must now also engage those who are as well enforcing the cruel laws that rip apart the lives of citizens. Those of us who are affected know that the time is past for this cruel implication of DOMA to be relegated to the dustbin of overturned, prejudiced policies. Now, we need help. Out4Immigration is running a petition at Change.org to appeal to the President, Secretary Napolitano, and the USCIS as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop deporting our partners. Will you help?
Promoting the petition doesn’t hurt, too! Thanks, everyone!
out4immigration.blogspot.com
On Monday, March 28th, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that it would hold off on processing green card applications from married, same-sex couples that were being routinely denied the right to remain together. Thinking USCIS would hold these cases until the legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was resolved, advocates for LGBT and immigrant rights celebrated a step forward for basic justice. Sadly, the Obama administration is backtracking already. Officials are telling the media that same-sex couples could go back to being denied a life together in less than a week. Thousands of couples would again be faced with the prospect of choosing between the person they love and the country they call home. Perhaps USCIS, DHS, and the White House need a reminder that these are real people’s lives they are toying with. Sign the petition urging USCIS to stand by its original decision to hold off on processing green card applications for loving same-sex couples, at least until DOMA can be decided. http://www.change.org/petitions/dear-uscis-dont-go-back-to-denying-green-cards-to-loving-same-sex-couples#?opt_new=f&opt_fb=t http://www.change.org/petitions/dear-uscis-dont-go-back-to-denying-green-cards-to-loving-same-sex-couples#?opt_new=f&opt_fb=t
crossposted from Out4Immigration’s blog…. by Kathy Drasky Today’s breaking story in Newsweek that two USCIS districts—Washington, DC and Baltimore—have informed attorneys from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that cases in their districts involving the green card applications of married gay and lesbian couples would be put on hold is the second major step this year toward green cards for same-sex binationals. (The first step was the February 23 decision by the Obama Administration that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional.) Prior to the DOMA decision, these applications were routinely dismissed and deportations were carried out because DOMA rendered same-sex married couples “legal strangers”. Combined, these two steps do more to end immigration inequality against same-sex binational couples than everything we’ve worked on since the Permanent Partners Immigration Act (the precursor to the Uniting American Families Act, UAFA) was first introduced in 2000. However, make no mistake that the work that has preceded these two monumental shifts toward ending the gratuitous cruelty that shuts out same-sex married couples from the same rights as opposite-sex married couples has as its bedrock the grassroots advocacy of a handful of groups who have worked to raise awareness in some of the darkest days of the Bush Administration (remember those?) and these first two years of Obama, as well as the unwavering support of Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). What does the USCIS announcement really mean to you if you are a married same-sex binational couple? First, seek the advice of a competent and trusted immigration attorney. And, if you are uncomfortable with the advice you receive, get a second opinion – or even a third. The best place to start is with the law firm Masliah and Soloway, they are the founders of Immigration Equality, have co-authored the original PPIA legislation and now run the Stop the Deportations Project. Lavi Soloway has been the attorney for a number of the couples whose cases have recently been put on hold by immigration judges, who, following President Obama’s order to stop defending DOMA, have decided that they cannot make a ruling against a same-sex binational couple’s green card case without using DOMA to block it. As a result, the decisions in these cases have been delayed. Second, note the key word here is “delayed”. The optimists among us like to believe DOMA will be gone by the end of the year. Pessimists think it will take 10 years and there will be numerous setbacks along the way. The reality is none of us know how long this will take, but if we look at any civil rights history, once a movement gains momentum, and that momentum becomes relentless, barriers tend to come down faster than expected. And that’s where all of us come in – whether we are a married same-sex binational couple supported by an immigration attorney’s advice to file the I-130, or a couple advised against marrying and/or filing right now, we need to tell our stories at every opportunity. In the past 10 years it is our stories that have helped us make progress each small step of the way. From individuals who financed their own trips to Washington DC, who visited their representatives in their home offices, who wrote letters and made phone calls – these actions led to the record 161 co-sponsors of UAFA in the last session of Congress, got us a Congressional hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led to more than 30 cities and one state (California) sponsoring resolutions supporting same-sex binationals and put us in at least two Comprehensive Immigration Reform bills (with promises of inclusion in others). It is this work by all of us in the LGBT immigration rights community and our allies in the marriage equality movement that has led to what is happening now. There are three clear goals now in sight that we all need to work on together: 1) A national policy of abeyance (i.e., putting same-sex binationals’ green card applications on hold until DOMA can be resolved one way or the other). According to Christopher Nugent, who chairs the immigrant-rights committee for the American Bar Association and has testified before the Senate on immigrant benefits and DOMA, the two individual USCIS districts are unlikely to be making the decision to put green card applications from same-sex binationals on hold on their own. He suggests that the shift in practice is a national one because “they can’t do that in two jurisdictions and not do it in other jurisdictions.” How to accomplish: If you are able, seek the advice of an immigration attorney and weigh your options for getting married and if you can get married (or already are married), file the I-130 form (with appropriate legal counsel). 2) Repeal DOMA. More than 50% of Americans support marriage equality. Nearly 70% support gay and lesbian couples having the same rights as heterosexual couples. Keep repeal DOMA in the headlines. Use your social media tools like Facebook to circulate stories and get those on the sidelines to become active supporters. 3) Champion UAFA. The bill that would add three words to current immigration law “or permanent partner” wherever the word “spouse” appears is scheduled to be reintroduced in Congress very soon. With USCIS delaying decisions on green cards due to the fragile state of DOMA as law of the land, the time has never been better than to showcase the justice this bill will deliver to gay and lesbian American citizens with foreign partners. If you have not joined Out4Immigration yet either via our Yahoo Groups list or Facebook page (or both), please sign up today. Those of you already working with us know that we will bring you the news and the calls to action via these two channels as it happens. Want to be more involved in community outreach, communications or in helping us launch creative ways to get those green cards? Email us at [email protected] Kathy Drasky is a volunteer media coordinator for Out4Immigration. out4immigration.blogspot.com
(No Ratings Yet) Cleveland OH just became the 33rd city in this nation to support the passage of the Uniting American Families Act! Many thanks to Tim K for getting this resolution passed! Below is a report from him that we would like to share with you!
out4immigration.blogspot.com
(No Ratings Yet) Out4Immigration is an all grassroots organization and our letter writing campaign is now in its 74th week. We must continue to keep this issue out front and make sure UAFA’s language is included in any bill that moves forward. Our efforts have gained us a LOT of co-sponsors in both the House (24) and Senate (5), and it’s important to remember the impact that continued, consistent grass roots efforts have. WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! This week, we are focusing on President Obama, a suggestion from one of our members since this happens to be his Birthday week (thank you, Tim!). Click the link to send an e-mail to the President, and please also forward this on to as many family and friends, and share on Facebook, Twitter, etc… We need as many people to sign this each week as possible, and the change.org link makes doing this quick and easy! We are almost finished contacting every single Democratic member of Congress that is not a UAFA co-sponsor, along with all of the Republicans mentioned as being possibly supportive. Out4Immigration will continue the weekly petition, and use this opportunity to occasionally focus on contacting people and organizations outside of Congress to press them on UAFA. Please also be sure to sign all of our previous weekly petitions for UAFA: We are also working on getting UAFA-supportive resolutions passed by city councils all around the country, and getting State, County and City elected officials to send letters to members of Congress urging them to support UAFA. Please download the Grassroots Groundswell Kit for more information (it’s very easy!!). Out4immigration.org
The following op-ed was published on New American Media,/a. about the need to make sure that Comprehensive Immigration Reform includes LGBT Families! Editor’s Note: The White House has been reaching out to the evangelical churches for support on immigration reform. While several prominent evangelical leaders have extended their support, some have said if same-sex couple were included in family reunification proposals that would be a deal breaker. Amos Lim, founding board member of Out4Immigration, a group advocating for bi-national same-sex couples has a response. Not many people realize that within the United States there are approximately 36,000 couples who are struggling to be together because they are binational same-sex couples. The Uniting American Families Act would allow U.S. citizens or permanent residents to sponsor their partners to become permanent residents. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., recently held a press conference with more than 40 advocacy groups to urge congress to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) this year by ensuring that it gets included in comprehensive immigration reform. Here in the state of California, our state legislature voted overwhelmingly in a bipartisan way a few weeks ago for AJR15 — a joint resolution that makes California the first state to support the passage of UAFA and its inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform. Most people are still unaware of this situation — that an LGBT American does not have any right to sponsor his/her foreign spouse for a green card while their heterosexual brothers and sisters have those rights. It really does not matter if you are one of the 18,000 couples legally married in the State of California, or one of the many LGBT couples who are married in the states that recognize marriage equality — the federal government does not recognize those marriages because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In fact, being legally married or registered for domestic partnership could create problems for some couples as the foreign partner could easily be classified as an overstay risk and be denied entry into this country even if they follow all the rules. All these stories are real! Falling in love and wanting to commit the rest of your life to someone should be one of the biggest joys in your life, but when you are a same-sex bi-national couple, it could also be the start of a nightmare — being forced to choose between love and country. SF Weekly recently did a cover story in their June 9 issue titled, “Worlds Apart” about this issue. In it, they highlighted a gay couple, Mark and Sang, who are legally married in San Francisco, but the foreign spouse has since been denied entry into the country. Sen. John Kerry petitioned personally for a gay couple in Massachusetts who have been separated due to the unjust immigration laws. California’s Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced a private bill last year to help stay the deportation order for Shirley Tan so she would not be separated from her wife Jay and twin sons. Ms Tan’s private bill will expire at the end of this year, which means she will face the threat of deportation again, when the new Congress is sworn in. Now there are reports that adding the language of the Uniting American Families Act could potentially be a deal breaker for comprehensive immigration reform. I want to let all those who oppose adding LGBT couples into the immigration reform bill to know that we are families too! A lot of our couples have made a commitment to each other to stay together in sickness and in health. Even though the obstacles for us to stay together seem insurmountable, we are still here and we are still together! For immigration reform to be truly comprehensive, LGBT families must be included in the reform. Many LGBT couples have already left the country to live in exile in one of the 20 countries that accepts same sex immigration. It is time the United States recognizes this issue and passes immigration reform that includes same sex bi-national couples, so that Shirleys and Jays, Marks and Sangs and the thousands of others out there could live their lives without worrying perpetually about separation. By not including LGBT families in immigration reform, or not passing the Uniting American Families Act, we will be forcing families to separate and that is wrong. Don’t forget, LGBT families are families too! www.out4immigration.org
Out4Immigration is an all grassroots organization and our letter writing campaign is now in its 73rdweek. We must continue to keep this issue out front and make sure UAFA’s language is included in any bill that moves forward. Our efforts have gained us a LOT of co-sponsors in both the House (24) and Senate (5), and it’s important to remember the impact that continued, consistent grass roots efforts have. WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! This week, we are focusing on five more members of the House:
- Let’s finally hit our goal of 500 signatures! Click on this link to send an e-mail to all of these members of Congress, and please also forward this on to as many family and friends, and share on Facebook, Twitter, etc… We need as many people to sign this each week as possible, and the change.org link makes doing this quick and easy! Please also be sure to sign all of our previous weekly petitions for UAFA: http://www.change.org/my_change/search?content_type=Petitions&global_keyword=lgbt+immigration+Rights We are also working on getting UAFA-supportive resolutions passed by city councils all around the country, and getting State, County and City elected officials to send letters to members of Congress urging them to support UAFA. Please contact Tom Tierney if you can help (it’s very easy!!). Out4immigration.org
crossposted from Out4Immigration’s Blog On July 6th, 2010, Atlanta, Georgia became the 21st city to pass a resolution in support of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). This would not have been possible without the help of Jeff Graham of Equality Georgia, Councilor Alex Wan, and Don George, a member of Out4Immigration. If you’d like to thank Jeff, Alex and the Atlanta city council:
Folks – all of these resolutions and letters of support are happening because people are reaching out locally and spreading the word and asking for a resolution. These are not happening out of the blue. ARE YOU reaching out and spreading the word in your State?? If not – WHY?? Imagine if everyone on this list starting reaching out, and how much more support this would garner for ALL us. It is time for EVERYONE to step up and help push UAFA forward at the grassroots level, not just a small handful of people. E-mail [email protected] to help move UAFA forward in your State. http://out4immigration.blogspot.org
|
 
 | ||||
