Chicago Free Press Editorial - Immigration reform is a gay issue
Immigration reform is a gay issue
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
Is immigration reform a gay issue? You bet it is.
Many GLBT community leaders point out that immigration rights is an issue of social justice that parallels our struggle for equality. But there are also more direct ties connecting the two movements.
For one thing, GLBT Americans share a common enemy with U.S. immigrants. The political forces that seek to criminalize undocumented workers are the same bigots who work against tolerance of GLBT citizens. Apparently, xenophobia and homophobia are born in the same dark recesses of the human psyche.
GLBT people have both a moral obligation and strategic imperative to stand in unity with other victims of the far right’s hateful agenda.
But there’s an even stronger tie between the two movements. Every year, untold thousands of GLBT people come here from more oppressive nations seeking to live openly and honestly in relative freedom. While U.S. law provides asylum to GLBT people who are persecuted in their nations of origin, many of them are unaware of that provision or too unsophisticated or frightened to take advantage of it. Many more GLBT people around the world suffer from unbearable forms of discrimination that do not qualify them for asylum but prompt them to seek a better life here.
It’s impossible to know how many GLBT refugees of hatred and intolerance wind up here as undocumented workers. But it’s certain that those who seek to seal our borders would deny them their freedom and safety.
Sadly missing from the current debate over immigration reform is the issue of same-sex partners. The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 prohibits federal recognition of same-sex couples in the U.S., and therefore non-citizen partners of gays and lesbians are not eligible for immigration on the basis of their relationships. Non-citizen heterosexual spouses, on the other hand, can immigrate here legally.
According to the 2000 U.S. census, 6 percent of the nation’s 594,391 same-sex “unmarried partners” are comprised of one citizen and one non-citizen. It’s unclear how many of the more than 18,000 non-citizen partners are undocumented, but those who are face deportation. This can cause grievous suffering and financial hardship, especially for couples with children.
Currently, only 16 countries have policies granting immigration rights to the same-sex non-national partners of their citizens. Those include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In response to America’s lag in gay immigration rights, a bipartisan bill pending in Congress would allow U.S. citizens and legal residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for residence. The bill, known as the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), formerly called the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, was defeated by the 108th Congress.
It’s vital for GLBT people to join the current struggle for fair immigration reform and to use the media spotlight that’s currently on this issue to build support for the UAFA.
For more information, go to immigrationequality.org.
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
Is immigration reform a gay issue? You bet it is.
Many GLBT community leaders point out that immigration rights is an issue of social justice that parallels our struggle for equality. But there are also more direct ties connecting the two movements.
For one thing, GLBT Americans share a common enemy with U.S. immigrants. The political forces that seek to criminalize undocumented workers are the same bigots who work against tolerance of GLBT citizens. Apparently, xenophobia and homophobia are born in the same dark recesses of the human psyche.
GLBT people have both a moral obligation and strategic imperative to stand in unity with other victims of the far right’s hateful agenda.
But there’s an even stronger tie between the two movements. Every year, untold thousands of GLBT people come here from more oppressive nations seeking to live openly and honestly in relative freedom. While U.S. law provides asylum to GLBT people who are persecuted in their nations of origin, many of them are unaware of that provision or too unsophisticated or frightened to take advantage of it. Many more GLBT people around the world suffer from unbearable forms of discrimination that do not qualify them for asylum but prompt them to seek a better life here.
It’s impossible to know how many GLBT refugees of hatred and intolerance wind up here as undocumented workers. But it’s certain that those who seek to seal our borders would deny them their freedom and safety.
Sadly missing from the current debate over immigration reform is the issue of same-sex partners. The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 prohibits federal recognition of same-sex couples in the U.S., and therefore non-citizen partners of gays and lesbians are not eligible for immigration on the basis of their relationships. Non-citizen heterosexual spouses, on the other hand, can immigrate here legally.
According to the 2000 U.S. census, 6 percent of the nation’s 594,391 same-sex “unmarried partners” are comprised of one citizen and one non-citizen. It’s unclear how many of the more than 18,000 non-citizen partners are undocumented, but those who are face deportation. This can cause grievous suffering and financial hardship, especially for couples with children.
Currently, only 16 countries have policies granting immigration rights to the same-sex non-national partners of their citizens. Those include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In response to America’s lag in gay immigration rights, a bipartisan bill pending in Congress would allow U.S. citizens and legal residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for residence. The bill, known as the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), formerly called the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, was defeated by the 108th Congress.
It’s vital for GLBT people to join the current struggle for fair immigration reform and to use the media spotlight that’s currently on this issue to build support for the UAFA.
For more information, go to immigrationequality.org.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 4:31 PM
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