Posts Tagged uniting american families act
Lesbian Mom Ordered Deported
(365gay.com Newscenter Staff, 3/31/09)
(San Mateo, California) A Northern California family is expected to be torn apart on Friday when Shirley Tan is scheduled to be deported back to the Philippines, leaving behind her life partner and their 12 year old twin sons.
Tan and Jaylynn “Jay” Mercado were married in San Francisco in 2004. Their marriage was voided, but even if it still were in effect the federal Defense of Marriage Act prevents Mercado from sponsoring her partner of 23 years for immigration. Were the women a married opposite-sex couple, Tan could be legal.
“From the moment my sons were born we have never been apart. It’s tearing me apart to have to leave without them,” said Tan. Legislation was re-introduced in Congress last month that would allow Americans in a same-sex relationship to sponsor their “permanent partners” for legal residency in the United States.
The Uniting American Families Act was filed in the House by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and in the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy. With Democrats now in Control of the Congress and the White House LGBT advocates are hopeful the measure will become law.
“Shirley Tan’s unacceptable situation is just one example of why Congress must pass immigration equality legislation. The Uniting American Families Act, which I co-sponsored, will allow lesbian and gay Americans to sponsor their permanent partners for residency in the United States,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, one of 110 cosponsors.
“In the near term, I am confident that any official who examines the facts in Shirley Tan’s case will come to the conclusion that this hard-working mother of two should not be sent to a country where she has no support network and was the victim of a horrific act of violence.”
“Until the UAFA passes, families like Jay and Shirley’s are at terrible risk,” said Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel B. Tiven. “We are hopeful their members of Congress will introduce a private bill that would spare their twin boys and the boys’ grandmother from having the country they love tear their family apart.” It is doubtful though that any legislation could be passed before the Friday deadline.
Across the country, 37,000 couples face similar circumstances. Last week, the White House issued a statement about the Uniting American Families Act, saying “[President Obama] thinks Americans with partners from other countries should not be faced with a painful choice between staying with their partner or staying in their country.”
Victoria Neilson, Immigration Equality’s Legal Director, stated, “There may be no options for Jay and Shirley under existing law. How can they explain to their children that the U.S. Government does not consider them a family?”
March 31, 2009
Separation Anxiety: Washington Post Favors Uniting American Families Act
THE UNITING AMERICAN FAMILIES ACT, HR1024 would allow gay and lesbian Americans and permanent residents to sponsor their foreign-born partners for legal residency in the United States. The bill, introduced last month in the Senate by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and in the House by Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), would add “permanent partner” and “permanent partnership” after the words “spouse” and “marriage” in relevant sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If passed, it would right a gross unfairness.
Under the proposal, a “permanent partnership” is defined as a “committed, intimate relationship” with another adult “in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment.” The couple must be financially interdependent and not married to or in a permanent partnership with anyone else. And the partners can’t be related. The benefit comes with the same immigration restrictions and enforcement standards that apply to heterosexual couples. Fraudulent permanent partnerships face the same penalties as fake marriages: up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
March 30, 2009
Washington Post Says Yes To Uniting American Families Act
Yesterday the Washington Post printed an editorial in favor of the Uniting American Familiar Act, citing the “gross unfairness” that same-sex binational couples experience. The Uniting American Families Act, which was introduced into both chambers of Congress last month, would allow the foreign partners of same-sex binational couples the same rights as married heterosexuals.
THE UNITING American Families Act would allow gay and lesbian Americans and permanent residents to sponsor their foreign-born partners for legal residency in the United States. The bill, introduced last month in the Senate by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and in the House by Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), would add “permanent partner” and “permanent partnership” after the words “spouse” and “marriage” in relevant sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If passed, it would right a gross unfairness.
March 17, 2009
On Valentine’s Day, Binational Gay and Lesbian Couples Struggle to Stay Together
HRC Back Story by Chris Johnson
HE MAY LOVE YOU, BUT OUR CURRENT IMMIGRATION POLICY LOVES HIM NOT: HRC and Immigration Equality, a national group aimed at ending LGBT discrimination in immigration law, lauded today’s introduction of the Uniting American Families Act.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), will provide lesbian and gay Americans the same opportunity as different-sex couples to sponsor their partner for immigration purposes.
Under U.S. immigration law, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses for immigration purposes. But gay and lesbian Americans are not afforded this basic right. This inequality affects more than 36,000 gay and lesbian Americans, according to the 2000 Census and research commissioned by Immigration Equality and conducted by Gary Gates of the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
During a media conference call this afternoon, Rep. Nadler joined HRC President Joe Solmonese, Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel B. Tiven, and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Legislative Staff Attorney John Amaya to discuss the importance of this legislation. Two binational couples who face the prospect of being forcibly separated under existing immigration laws also took part in the call.
READ THE STATEMENTS and check out IMMIGRATION EQUALITY
February 13, 2009
