The Grassroot Struggle for LGBTQI Equality in Immigration – New UAFA Sponsor.

Photo by Melanie Nathan, SF Pride 2009, Mercado Tan Twins

by Melanie Nathan – San Francisco, 2.4.2010. Recently, Out4Immigration urged their group to contact Congressman Maffei as part of their ongoing grassroots letter campaign – and the “proof of the pudding is in the eating”! Out4Immigration contacted Congressman Maffei last summer and also followed up with phone calls. and coordinated actions since. All credit to this extraordinary group of unfunded and dedicated volunteers. I joined this campaign and have marvelled at the consistency and organization plowed into something so big and so effective much by so few. If one looks at the campaign target timing and compare it to the resulting sponsorship, the result is clear.

This effort has clearly paid off and it is entirely the work of OUT4Immigration. Perhaps other organizations can take note of grassroot importance, prvide guidance and transparency so efforts such as this are fully supported.

Congressman Maffei is considered a ‘vulnerable’ Democrat because he is a freshman and from a conservative district. He very easily could have stayed away from a ‘controversial’ bill like UAFA – but he showed courage and did the right thing. Everyone who participated in Out4Immigration’s well coordinated campaign should be proud. – YOU made the difference!!!

For a year worth of weeks, Out4Immigration has and continues to target members of Congress who we think understand and support our issue, but haven’t signed on to co-sponsor the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) yet. These targets are selected based upon their past voting records on LGBT and Immigrations issues, the various Committees they sit on in the House and Senate, the Congressional Caucuses they belong to, and the States/Districts that they represent.

From their webpage: On Sunday night/Monday mornings, we post these ‘targets’ to our Yahoo Group, Facebook, Twitter, and Change.org page.

We have made it real easy for you to send the letters. All you need to do is click through to Change.org’s action page, select the action that you want to take, complete your information and the letter(s) will be sent immediately.

Have your representatives signed on yet? You can find out at:
[House co-sponsors] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR01024:@@@P
[Senate co-sponsors] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SN00424:@@@P

WANT TO DO MORE?

Many people have asked what they can do to ensure that the Uniting American Families Act passes or to make sure LGBT Families are included in Comprehensive Immigration Reform. We encourage you to go to our action page and take part in our letter writing campaign. Don’t just sign one… as every action is a different one.

If you want to do more, here are some other ways you could help us get more co-sponsors:

(1) Write your own letter and share your personal story about why this bill and issue is important for you and/or your family member; (2) Create a booklet telling your story. Check out our toolkit for more info on this option. (3) Send the action page link to your families and friends and get them to send letters too… it is just a simple click of the button and it is easy.

The Uniting American Families Act Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses (and other immediate family members) for immigration purposes. But same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are not considered “spouses” and their partners cannot sponsor them for family-based immigration. Consequently, thousands of lesbian and gay bi-national couples are kept apart, torn apart, or forced to stay together illegally, with one partner in constant fear of deportation. The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) would help to remedy this injustice.

change.org

What is the UAFA? The UAFA would allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration to the United States.

How does the UAFA work?

The UAFA would amend the INA by simply adding the term “permanent partner” in sections where “spouse” appears, thus ensuring that a non-citizen permanent partner may receive the same immigration benefits that a non-citizen spouse now receives.

Under the UAFA, a person may qualify as the permanent partner of a U.S. citizen
or legal permanent resident if, among other things, he or she is:

At least 18 years of age;

In an intimate relationship with the sponsoring adult U.S. citizen
or legal permanent resident in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment;

Financially interdependent with that person;

Not married or in a permanent partnership with anyone other than that person;

and Unable to contract with that person a marriage that is recognized under the INA.