http://imeq.us/info2 Your Source for imeQ Social News and Binational Networking Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:19 -0400 en http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/for-same-sex-binational-couples-is-the-time/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/for-same-sex-binational-couples-is-the-time/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:19 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/for-same-sex-binational-couples-is-the-time/


5 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-out4immigration-blog-is-it-time-to-focus-on-repealing-doma/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-out4immigration-blog-is-it-time-to-focus-on-repealing-doma/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:19 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-out4immigration-blog-is-it-time-to-focus-on-repealing-doma/


18 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/inhumane-impact-of-doma---salon/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/inhumane-impact-of-doma---salon/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:19 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/inhumane-impact-of-doma---salon/ A spate of teen suicides linked to anti-gay harassment is prompting school officials nationwide to rethink their efforts against bullying -- and in the process, risk entanglement in a bitter ideological debate.
The conflict: Gay-rights supporters insist that any effective anti-bullying program must include specific components addressing harassment of gay youth. But religious conservatives condemn that approach as an unnecessary and manipulative tactic to sway young people's views of homosexuality.

It's a highly emotional topic. Witness the hate mail -- from the left and right -- directed at Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District while it reviews its anti-bullying strategies in the aftermath of a gay student's suicide.
The invective is "some of the worst I've ever seen," Superintendent Dennis Carlson said. "We may invite the Department of Justice to come in and help us mediate this discussion between people who seem to want to go at each other."
Carlson's district in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis is politically diverse, and there are strong, divided views on how to combat bullying.
"We believe the bullying policy should put the emphasis on the wrong actions of the bullies and not the characteristics of the victims," said Chuck Darrell of the conservative Minnesota Family Council.
That's a wrongheaded, potentially dangerous approach, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network -- which tries to improve the school climate for gay students nationwide.
"Policies have to name the problem in order to have an impact," said GLSEN's executive director, Eliza Byard. "Only the ones that name it see an improvement."
According to a 2009 GLSEN survey of 7,261 students, only 18 percent said their schools had a comprehensive program addressing anti-gay bullying, while gay students in schools that had such programs were less likely to be victimized and more likely to report problems to staff.
Across the political spectrum, every group weighing in on the issue had deplored the recent deaths -- the latest in a long series of suicides over many years by harassed gay teens, but dramatic nonetheless because of the high toll in a short span.
The most recent and highest-profile case involved Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi, 18, who killed himself by jumping off the George Washington bridge after his roommate secretly recorded him with another male student, then broadcast the video online.
But at least four younger teens have killed themselves since July after being targeted by anti-gay bullying, including Justin Aaberg, 15, of Andover, Minn., who hanged himself in his room in July. His friends told his mother he'd been a frequent target of bullies mocking his sexual orientation.
Five other students in his Anoka-Hennepin school district have killed themselves in the past year, and gay-rights advocates say bullying may have played a role in two of these cases as well.
Carlson, the district superintendent, lost a teenage daughter of his own in a car crash, and says he shares the anguish of the parents bereaved by suicide. He acknowledges that a controversial district policy calling for "neutrality" in classroom discussions of sexual orientation may have created an impression among some teachers, students and outsiders that school staff wouldn't intervene aggressively to combat anti-gay bullying.
The district -- Minnesota's largest -- serves nearly 40,000 students in 13 towns. The school board adopted the neutrality policy in 2009 as a balancing act, trying not to offend either liberal or conservative families.
Rebecca Dearing, 17, a junior who belongs to the gay-straight alliance at the district's Champlin Park High School, said the neutrality policy caused teachers to shy away from halting anti-gay harassment -- sometimes leaving her gay friends feeling vulnerable to the point where they don't come to school.
"This shouldn't be a political issue any more, when it's affecting the lives of our students," she said. "It's a human issue that needs to be dealt with. They can be doing more and they're not."
In August, amid the furor over the suicides, the district clarified its anti-bullying program -- saying that it was not governed by the neutrality provision and had always been intended to encourage vigilant, proactive adult intervention to curb anti-gay harassment. Staffers were told failure to intervene would be punished.
Justin Aaberg's mother, Tammy Aaberg, is convinced the broader neutrality policy has been damaging to gay students and wants it changed. She said she heard belatedly from Justin's friends about instances in past years where he was harassed that she was never notified about even through staff members were aware.
Now she sees signs that the district wants to be more diligent, but isn't fully reassured.
"Most of the teachers and principals, and maybe even now the superintendent, they mean well -- they want to intervene," she said. "But the teachers still don't know what they can and can't do."
Nadia Boufous Phelps, the school psychologist at Anoka's Blaine High School, is co-advisor for its gay-straight alliance -- to which 27 of the 3,000 students belong. She welcomes the attempt to clarify the stance toward anti-gay bullying.
"In the past, the staff often would not intervene," she said. "Now the district has come out loud and clear, if you hear "That's so gay,' if you witness anything, you must do something."
Still, she said, "We still have a long way to go"
Carlson says his district, seven years ago, was among the first in the state to implement a comprehensive anti-bullying program. Now he's exasperated by the highly charged, politicized debate that has flared since Aaberg's suicide.
"It's a terribly sensitive situation," he said. "Hurtful statements on either side are not helpful ... and the kids are watching."
Phil Duran, staff attorney for the statewide gay rights group OutFront Minnesota, says Carlson and his colleagues are constrained by school board members who do not want to anger conservative voters in the district.
"They're between a rock and a hard place," he said. "I do think they want to do the right thing -- I don't think they known what the right thing is."
Nationally, the recent suicides have intensified calls on Congress to pass a pending bill, the Safe Schools Improvement Act. It would require schools receiving federal funds to implement bullying prevention programs that specifically address anti-gay harassment.
Supporters of the act say it has bipartisan support, but the likelihood of Democratic losses in the Nov. 2 election cloud its prospects, and it is vehemently opposed by many conservatives.
"A lot of these anti-bullying programs are crossing the lines far beyond bullying prevention into adult-oriented material and politics," said Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family. Mission America president Linda Harvey said the act would "incorporate mandatory pro-gay propaganda."
According to GLSEN, 10 states have anti-bullying laws along the lines of the Safe Schools Act -- requiring specific components addressing anti-gay harassment. But gay-rights activists say enforcement and compliance is not uniform.
For example, Dave Reynolds of the Trevor Project, which seeks to combat teen suicides, says many California schools are not in compliance with the state's 10-year-old law. One problem area, he said, is California's Central Valley -- the source of many calls to the Trevor Project's suicide hot line.
Jeffree Merteuil-Clark, 17, is a junior who's active in the gay-straight alliance at Frontier High School in Bakersfield, a Central Valley city not far from Tehachapi. That's the town where 13-year-old Seth Walsh, hanged himself outside his home last month after enduring taunts from classmates about being gay. He died after nine days in a coma.
Merteuil-Clark said the teachers who are sympathetic to bullied gay students tend to be cautious, fearing they might antagonize Kern County school administrators who want to "sweep the problem under the rug."
"Growing up gay in Kern County, you have all this opposition to you," he said. "It does have an impact on you. When you're little, you think the rest of the world hates you."
The debate has proved to be a minefield for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, one of the largest in the nation, as it strives to serve schools ranging from progressive to conservative.
"We have to be extremely careful," said Marlene Snyder, the Olweus development director, describing a community-by-community approach which enables schools to tailor the program as they see fit in regard to anti-gay bullying.
"We've worked in all kinds of schools," Snyder said. "Some have very much taken on the homophobic situation. Other schools won't touch it with a 10-foot pole."
GLSEN sees a mixed picture nationwide -- gay-straight alliances continue to spread, numbering more than 4,000 nationwide, yet nine of 10 gay students in its latest survey reported suffering anti-gay harassment,
Asked for an example of an effective program, GLSEN leader Eliza Byard cited New York City's Respect for All Initiative. The district, which serves 1.1 million students, makes specific mention of sexual orientation in its anti-bullying training for teachers and its materials for students.
"There's always more to do," said Elayna Konstan, head of the Office of School and Youth Development. "We're always trying to do this work better."
Of course, even a highly praised anti-bullying program doesn't spare New York City from its own share of anti-gay violence. Police charged members of a street gang with brutally beating a recruit they suspected of being gay and torturing him and two other people last week.
------
Associated Press Writer Chris Williams in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
------
Online:
GLSEN: http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/home/index.html
Minnesota Family Council: http://www.mfc.org/


10 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/human-rights-campaign-claim-congress-is-polarised---pink-paper/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/human-rights-campaign-claim-congress-is-polarised---pink-paper/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:19 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/human-rights-campaign-claim-congress-is-polarised---pink-paper/
15 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/playing-the-waiting-game-mdash-again---dallas-voice/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/playing-the-waiting-game-mdash-again---dallas-voice/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/playing-the-waiting-game-mdash-again---dallas-voice/ For the second time, RafiQ Salleh sits in Singapore waiting for a visa renewal as his business, his spouse in Dallas suffer from the separation
DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer taffet@dallasvoice.com


FORCED SEPARATION | Cannon Flowers, left, is back home in Dallas, waiting for the U.S. Embassy in Singapore to once again clear his partner RafiQ Salleh, right, to return to the U.S. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
RafiQ Salleh has lived in the United States legally since moving here in 1998 with his partner Cannon Flowers. But now, for the second time in two years, Salleh has been prevented from returning to the U.S. after returning to his native Singapore to pick up his visa.
In 2008, Salleh opened Chill Bubble Tea across the Tollway from the Galleria in North Dallas. He was approved for an E2 entrepreneurial visa, had to return to his home country to pick it up.
He traveled to Singapore but was stopped before returning because his name appeared on the terrorist watch list.
Flowers, who had accompanied his partner to Singapore, was forced to return to Dallas alone. He said after his return, it only took 20 minutes researching online to discover that the RafiQ Salleh on the terrorist watch list is a Pakistani who was already being held in Guantanamo.
It took the State Department almost two months to figure out the same information.
Flowers met Salleh when he was working for Texas Instruments and was based in Singapore. When Flowers moved back to Dallas, Salleh accompanied him on a student visa.  His stay was extended on a practical training visa and then again on an H1B three-year work visa, which he could renew once.
Flowers emphasizes now that Salleh's residence in this country has always been legal.
To remain in the U.S., Salleh invested in a new business and qualified for an E2 entrepreneurial visa. That document can be renewed an unlimited number of times but expires every two years.
To renew it, Salleh must travel to Singapore for an interview at the consulate where the visa is issued.
The 2008 trip delayed the opening of his business - a costly setback - and it took congressional intervention and pressure before the embassy acknowledged that the Guantanamo prisoner from Pakistan and the gay entrepreneur from Singapore were two different people.
In April of this year, Salleh applied to renew his visa again.
"RafiQ and I traveled to Singapore on Sept. 7," Flowers said. "RafiQ appeared before the U.S. consulate in Singapore on Sept. 14. An interview was conducted and he was informed that he would hear back from the consulate within four to six weeks but processing could take up to six months."
And once again, because his shares a name with an incarcerated terrorist suspect, Salleh was not able to return.
"I feel it is even pointless to inquire about my status," Salleh said, speaking this week from Singapore.
The consulate made it clear to not contact them for at least the first four weeks, Flowers said, because doing so would slow down the process and cause the embassy to view Salleh's application in a less than favorable light.
"Homeland Security has already approved the visa, stateside," Flowers said. "However the consulate has the final say and there is no appeal process to their decision."
He said the problem is the two-track visa approval process between the State Department and Homeland Security. Neither wants to be accused of being the gatekeeper who let terrorists into the country, Flowers said.
"There needs to be one immigration approval process," he said.
The current system that could keep a businessman out of the country up to six months once every two years makes running a business in this country extremely difficult.
"Physically I assumed I could take care of business from this end," Salleh said. "But realistically it is affecting me [and]  I can honestly say I am so out of touch."
He said it is difficult to run a business when he's starting his day just as his employees are ending theirs. He has tried to adjust his schedule to Dallas time.
"It is possible but physically draining," Salleh said.
Flowers said the waiting period is emotionally difficult. Salleh has been trying to keep busy in Singapore.
"The first two weeks I was focused on taking care of my family matters for my dad," Salleh said.
His mother died earlier this year and he helped his father change the title on her property in neighboring Malaysia.
"RafiQ has been doing volunteer teaching at the art academy he once attended," Flowers said. "He is also spending time with his many nieces and nephews."
But Salleh acknowledged that the long wait is disheartening.
"Slowly as it creeps into the third, fourth, and now fifth week, I felt very discouraged," he said.
Although family and friends in Singapore surround him, they have no idea "how much it is affecting my emotional well-being," Salleh said.
Immigration problems are common for binational same-sex couples. About 40,000 such couples live in the United States.
According to the group Immigration Equality, 19 nations allow their citizens to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration benefits. The U.S. is not among them.
Henry Velandia and Josh Vandiver were married in Connecticut in August. That state allows same-sex marriage. However, the marriage is recognized only on a state level and not by the federal government under the Defense of Marriage Act.
A ruling by a Massachusetts judge declared DOMA unconstitutional but that rulling has little effect so far as it is making its way through the appeals process.
Vandiver was born in Venezuela and his residency visa has expired. He will appear before an immigration judge on Nov. 17. The couple hopes deportation will be delayed until after the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of DOMA.
"Asking for a stay is a good strategy," Flowers said. "I believe they'll get it."
"The judge and the government attorney have discretion here," said Lavi Soloway, Velandia's attorney.
He said that the couple has not made contingency plans if Velandia is forced to leave the United States.
"For many couples, the only option is finding a third country and becoming refugees," he said.
Flowers said he and Salleh will be together even if they have to find another place to live.
The Uniting American Families Act would prevent this type of deportation. American citizens would be allowed to sponsor a same-sex partner for residency and citizenship. Heterosexual couples who marry can apply for permanent residency for their spouse. This would give same-sex couples an equal right.
That bill along with the Dream Act, which would give people who came to this country illegally as minors a path to citizenship, are stalled in Congress.
Soloway said his focus right now is on DOMA. If the Supreme Court finds that law unconstitutional, marriages such as his clients' would be recognized and Vandiver could sponsor his spouse.
Flowers said the treatment of binational couples amounts to nothing more than another form of bullying.
"I believe those that bullied us when we were young have simply grown up and continue to bully us in our grown up lives," he said.
He said there are many forms of bullying including "don't ask, don't tell" and employment discrimination as well as forced separation due to discriminatory immigration laws.
Flowers said he always wakes up at 4 a.m. and that's when he feels loneliest. It's 5 p.m. in Singapore, the time when the U.S. embassy closes. If he hasn't heard anything by then, it will be at least another 24 hours before he hears whether he and his partner of 14 years will be reunited.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 29, 2010


8 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/winning-in-politics-is-a-two-party-fight---washington-blade/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/winning-in-politics-is-a-two-party-fight---washington-blade/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/winning-in-politics-is-a-two-party-fight---washington-blade/ The witching hour is upon us. I'm not talking about Halloween, but the event that occurs just 48 hours later - Election Day. With mere days to go, the political map has nearly 100 Democratic seats in play, with the Republican Party poised to retake the House of Representatives, according to most pundits and prognosticators.
To my LGBT family, sorry to say this, but "I told you so." While some groups have said that we need to be patient with this White House and this Congress, time is quickly running out.
To my Republican brothers and sisters, it is time to start talking about what we stand for. It is no longer OK to only be against everything.
Weeks ago, Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, forecasted that the House would flip to the GOP after Nov. 2. He went further by saying that the Senate could see a 50-50 split.
Back in January on these pages, I asked, "What is there to show for the progress of the LGBT movement under Democratic control?" I fear the answer to this question today is the same as it was nine months ago: not much.
While many within our community continue to blindly mock and ridicule gay Republicans as being self-loathing, among other hollow insults, they simultaneously refuse to see that strength through diversity means just that - diversity in everything, including political thought.
This diversity in thought led conservative icon Ted Olsen to craft a conservative constitutional argument in the Prop 8 case in California. And most recently, it is the Log Cabin Republicans, who six years ago during the Bush administration brought a suit against the military that two weeks ago halted all discharges worldwide under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It is Republicans who are winning the argument for equal rights for gays and lesbians.
And while it is very true that the GOP has a dismal record on LGBT issues, Republican leaders are engaging gays and lesbians on issues where we at least have common ground.
Last month, the chairmen of the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee spoke at the National Dinner for the Log Cabin Republicans. They did so despite the protests of several conservative groups that asked them to withdraw.
No, their records on traditional LGBT issues aren't stellar in the least. However, they are engaging us on issues where we can come together. While the Defense of Marriage Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and "Don't Ask" are at the forefront of our movement, there are other issues that we can and should talk about, such as immigration reform and taxes, just to name two.
The outcome of this mid-term election will produce many things. It will produce heartache, malaise and distrust. But I also hope it will produce a sense of working with both political parties. This can be done by helping to elect more gay and gay-friendly Republican candidates.  There are more than a dozen endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans. Locally, all four Republican D.C. City Council candidates are gay-friendly. And two of them, Marc Morgan (Ward 1) and Tim Day (Ward 5) are gay Republicans.
Even before the holy war attacks on marriage equality during the Bush years, there weren't many groups willing to work with the GOP on our issues. I hope the last two years of total Democratic control will show these groups that they cannot afford to make that same mistake again. We need to engage both parties, and change hearts and minds one person at a time. If we don't, we'll get another Democratic speaker under a Democratic president telling us "not now."




11 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/watch-president-obama-on-the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart---lez-get-real/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/watch-president-obama-on-the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart---lez-get-real/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/watch-president-obama-on-the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart---lez-get-real/


10/27/2010- by Natasia Langfelder
Lots of Jon Stewart (congratulations Most Influential Man of 2010) and Obama news today. Did you miss the President on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night? Don't worry, you can watch it here! Let us know what you think of the President's interview in the comments!
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14 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-love---chelsea-now/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-love---chelsea-now/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-love---chelsea-now/ Ojeda met 35-year-old Monica Alcota, who came to the US ten years ago from Argentina, and the couple married, also in Connecticut, on August 27. Lavi Soloway, an immigration attorney who represents both couples and many others in same-sex relationships, explained that Alcota and a former partner fled their home in a region of Argentina near the Chilean border, fearing for their lives.Like Vandiver and Velandia, Ojeda and Alcota met online, though in their case it was a long-distance relationship initially, between Buffalo and Queens. The couple have lived together in Elmhurst since mid-2009, but next March, Alcota will go before an Immigration Judge, an official of the Justice Department, to argue against her deportation.Any couple would dread the prospect that one spouse might, for political reasons, be forcibly removed from their home and sent to another country. Such separation, however, is not merely hypothetical for Ojeda and Alcota. In mid-2009, out of nowhere, Alcota found herself in federal detention. It is not hyperbole to characterize the circumstances as draconian.When Ojeda finished up her master's program in Buffalo, she weighed whether to find work there or in New York City; Alcota's profession restoring antiques afforded the couple flexibility as to where they settled. Once Ojeda accepted a job in New York, the couple went to Buffalo to collect the last of her belongings, traveling by bus since Alcota lacks the documents required to fly.While returning to the city, their bus was stopped by the US border patrol - something that has become routine in areas adjoining Canada and Mexico. Alcota was pulled off the bus.Describing the ordeal as "horrible," Ojeda recalled asking the officials whether she should stay nearby pending Alcota's release. She was advised to continue on to New York, a well-founded recommendation. Alcota spent the next three months in federal detention - the first few days in an upstate county jail.The status of Alcota's detention was so uncertain that after Ojeda confirmed plans with the upstate jail to visit her there, she suddenly found out her partner had been transported to a privately managed federal facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she spent the remainder of her incarceration."I have no words to describe how I felt," Ojeda recalled. Through two interviews, Alcota made little headway in convincing immigration officials that she feared for her safety in going back to Argentina."It's absurd," Ojeda said. "How does he know she is not afraid?"Finally, an Immigration Judge - a woman, the couple noted - saw Alcota and determined that she had "a reasonable fear" of persecution should she be returned to Argentina.When Alcota next appears before an Immigration Judge, part of Soloway's strategy will depend on demonstrating that the "reasonable fear" justifies a grant of asylum. Argentina, which legalized marriage equality earlier this year, may not seem like a country that US officials will deem unsafe for a lesbian, but the couple and Soloway emphasize that not all of Argentina is Buenos Aires; Alcota's home town - the sort of place "where everybody knows your business," in Ojeda's words - is located all the way across the country from the capital."She always had to watch how she used to be, how she used to walk, what she used to wear," Ojeda explained.But, for the couple, their predicament involves a fundamental issue separate from Alcota's fear of returning to her country of birth. As the spouse of an American citizen, she should be allowed to stay in the US, just as any heterosexual husband or wife would be able to as of right.That argument is integral to the legal efforts Soloway is pursuing for both couples."Somebody is dictating where we can live, and it shouldn't be that way," Ojeda said. Then, explaining that her college activism only partially prepared her for what she is facing now, she added, "Before, I was doing it for everybody's sake. Now it is closer to home. I know it's not okay what is happening to us."That gut appreciation for the wrongness of the way binational gay and lesbian couples are treated in the US also comes through loud and clear from Vandiver and Velandia.Asked what they would do if Velandia's case before an Immigration Judge is unsuccessful, Vandiver seemed almost incredulous at the question. "We can't go back to Venezuela," he said.To be sure, Velandia has anxieties about his ability to live safely in Venezuela, answering, "Of course," when asked if he would be scared to be returned. People from his community back there have written negative comments about him being gay when they discovered it on Facebook.In his last conversation with his grandmother earlier this year, shortly before she died, she told him, "You know what you're doing is not right. I won't support that. I love you as my grandson, but I won't support that because of God."Recalling the conversation, Velandia said, "Basically, she condemned me and then she died." He told his grandmother, "I am with a human being who makes me happy, and I am in love with him and I can't change that."It is that love more than the potential for persecution Velandia might face in Venezuela that animates the couple when they discuss the hurdles they face.Pressed to explain specifically what he meant in saying the couple couldn't go to Venezuela, Vandiver said, "I mean that in the normative sense. We shouldn't even be thinking about that. It shouldn't be an issue that the spouse of an American citizen should be deported... I've never encountered discrimination, especially discrimination that's so powerful, that my love and my husband would be taken from me. And there's nothing I can do about it - that I as an American can't bring my spouse to this country just like every other American can. I find it ridiculous."Vandiver and Velandia speak about each other in terms strikingly personal, affectionate, and affecting, perhaps because in many ways, as Henry explained, they came out together. Velandia's success in his profession has included appearances on Univision, performing with some of the world's best salsa dancers, and it is not hard to imagine Vandiver, with his carefully groomed beard and effectively marshaled choice of words, sharing his scholarly enthusiasm with undergraduates (ironically, his dissertation focuses on "political anger").The background of neither man, however, would have predicted that they would live as a married gay couple in Princeton, New Jersey. Vandiver grew up in Swink, Colorado, a small town well southeast of Colorado Springs, Denver, and Boulder, the son of a former railway machinist who now works for the state Department of Transportation and an employee of the State Judiciary.Both men were deeply involved in evangelical Christian congregations growing up; Vandiver was a child preacher and considered that as a career path, and Velandia, at 17, became the only youth from his church to become a missionary, spending seven months in Britain.Velandia acknowledged feelings for men as a youth, but explained that his religion taught him that "you have to change yourself." While in the UK, however, he "began to learn more about myself. It's not like I said I'm gay, but I definitely knew I was dealing with something."Still uncertain about his sexuality when he moved to the US several years later to join his mother and sister in Princeton, he dated two women, the second for an extended period, during which, with her support, he acknowledged his homosexuality.For Vandiver, sexuality was something largely deferred in a youth in which Rush Limbaugh was a big influence. "Unlike Henry, I never had a girlfriend and was never interested in having one," he recalled. "I sort of remember taking a glance at some of the football players during the game… It wasn't until my senior year at Harvard that I started to come out to people. I knew before then, but it's a weird kind of knowing when you have so many beliefs and you come from a place like that, where it's not even possible to lead an openly gay life. It doesn't even enter into your choice of possibilities."Now, roughly a decade after each man set a course for change in his life, their marriage and home in Princeton is what they know and value."I married my husband, the love of my life, and it would be ridiculous to go back," Velandia explained. "It would be going into the past."In staking their claim to the right to continue their lives unfettered in the US, both couples are pressing the legal sanctity of their marriages as much as any arguments about the dangers of one spouse having to leave America. Vandiver and Ojeda have each recently filed Form I-130 with the Department of Homeland Security, a petition for an alien relative, "the spouse of USC"; the process generally take months before action is taken.For any different-sex couple, simply filing the form would excuse the spouse from any deportation proceeding before an Immigration Judge. Should either Velandia or Alcota go into their hearing before the I-130 is acted on, their having filed may or may not influence the Immigration Judge.According to Soloway, a judge could decide, before considering any asylum claim, to defer the case until the spousal claim is decided. It is, of course, likely that Homeland Security will reject both I-130s, citing the Defense of Marriage Act.However, because a US district judge in Massachusetts this past summer ruled that DOMA's provision blocking federal recognition of legal marriages by same-sex couples is unconstitutional, Vandiver and Ojeda can make reasonable arguments, before an Immigration Judge or in a civil court, that the question of their marriage's validity under immigration law is not yet a settled question.It's a good bet that DOMA's repeal is some years off, and final resolution of the Massachusetts constitutional challenge will also take more time than either couple may have. Similarly, prospects for reforming immigration law to allow foreign same-sex spouses to stay in the US on the same terms as those from different-sex couples are also uncertain - irretrievably enmeshed in the broader, culturally explosive debate.For now, what Soloway, Vandiver and Velandia, and Ojeda and Alcota are pressing for is a moratorium on deportation of same-sex spouses pending resolution of the DOMA and immigration issues. The pressure points for that advocacy are Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who report, Soloway notes, to a president who supports DOMA's repeal.Both couples, their attorney, and many other couples facing the heartbreaking prospect of separation understand that time is of the essence. Vandiver and Velandia already have nearly 3,200 fans on Facebook.com/SaveOurMarriage, which they recently launched to encourage people to press their elected representatives on the issue of halting deportations. Soloway, meanwhile, maintains the site stopthedeportations.com with the same aim.As Congress and the courts plod along toward justice, the best hope right now for Vandiver and Velandia and Ojeda and Alcota is in the hands of the president who pledged to be their "fierce advocate."

10 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/president-obama-hints-at-changing-attitude-on-marriage-equality/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/president-obama-hints-at-changing-attitude-on-marriage-equality/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/president-obama-hints-at-changing-attitude-on-marriage-equality/ Perhaps this doesn't come as a surprise, especially for those who always thought that President Obama's opposition to gay marriage was rooted more in politics than principle. Indeed, in the late 1990s, President Obama (then a candidate for the Illinois State Legislature) indicated that he supported the right of gays and lesbians to get married.
But as a candidate and as President, Obama has always insisted that he's firmly against gay marriage. And we're reminded of it on a constant basis, such as when the National Organization for Marriage or Carrie Prejean or says that their stance against gay nuptials is the same as the President. It's pretty infuriating.
But today, in a meeting with a handful of progressive bloggers (including AMERICABlog's Joe Sudbay), Obama recognized that the arc of history is bending toward marriage equality ... and so too might his politics.
Here's the question Sudbay asked Obama: "So I just really want to know what is your position on same-sex marriage?"
And here's Obama's answer:

I do not intend to make big news sitting here with the five of you, as wonderful as you guys are ... I think it's a fair question to ask. I think that - I am a strong supporter of civil unions. As you say, I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage.
But I also think you're right that attitudes evolve, including mine. And I think that it is an issue that I wrestle with and think about because I have a whole host of friends who are in gay partnerships. I have staff members who are in committed, monogamous relationships, who are raising children, who are wonderful parents.
And I care about them deeply. And so while I'm not prepared to reverse myself here, sitting in the Roosevelt Room at 3:30 in the afternoon, I think it's fair to say that it's something that I think a lot about. That's probably the best you'll do out of me today.

Has the President of the United States just taken a major step toward endorsing marriage equality? Actions speak louder than words, of course, and the Justice Department's continued appeal of a federal lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as White House flubs on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, might make some think that this is just more nice and fluffy rhetoric coming from the 44th President.
But there is something about this statement that also feels a bit historic. I'm not sure where Obama will eventually fall on the issue of same-sex marriage. I have hopes, of course, but I've no doubt that his re-election in 2012 will influence his political courage on this issue.
What are your thoughts? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Photo credit: The White House



5 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-economics-of-immigration/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-economics-of-immigration/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-economics-of-immigration/


10 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/immigration-reform-can-not-wait---wnyc-blog/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/immigration-reform-can-not-wait---wnyc-blog/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/immigration-reform-can-not-wait---wnyc-blog/
This campaign season, the controversial Arizona law brought immigration reform to the forefront of our national conversation and highlighted a key distinction between the parties. Tea Party candidates across the country pledged to fight for similar laws if elected. On the Democratic side, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is in his own tough reelection battle, attached the Dream Act to the defense authorization bill a few months ago (unfortunately the Dream Act, offers a citizenship track to hardworking, undocumented children who graduate from US high schools and pursue college or military service, did not pass).
Some immigration activists argue that it will be harder to accomplish anything on immigration after 2010. A political tsunami will force President Obama to scale back his immigration agenda because he will likely lose some moderate Republicans who were supportive of comprehensive immigration reform. The new GOP class in Congress will probably take a hard turn to the right and have said that they favor tougher border controls before a pathway to citizenship.
The deep partisanship on this issue cannot get in the way of revamping our broken immigration system. Our elected officials, on both sides of the aisle, need to roll up their sleeves and overhaul our immigration policies for the sake of our competitiveness, our national security, and our country.
Any immigration reform plan must achieve four objectives: First it must remove restrictive barriers for highly skilled entrepreneurs to spur job creation and innovation. The current work-visa system is outdated and counter-productive. We should lift the cap on H1-B and EB-5 work and investor visas and pass the "StartUp Visa" program
Second, we cannot fix our economy without fixing our broken immigration system. By creating a fair pathway to citizenship we would boost our GDP by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
Third, as a New Yorker, I believe we must empower our law enforcement authorities with the resources needed to secure the homeland. In 2010, New York's share of the Department of Homeland Security Transit Security Grant Program fell by 28 percent. This is unacceptable.
Fourth, any immigration plan must protect our families and our neighborhoods. Today, 3.1 million American children have at least one parent who is in the US illegally. We need to pass the DREAM Act, and we must pass the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow US citizens in same-sex couples to sponsor their partners for legal immigration status.
If the Republicans stand in the way of comprehensive immigration reform, I guarantee voters across this country will kick them out in 2012.
Reshma Saujani ran an unsuccessful campaign in the Democratic primary against Rep. Carolyn Maloney in New York's 14th district, which covers Manhattan and Western Queens. A community activist and a legal scholar, she is a graduate of the University of Illinois, received her Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and her JD from Yale Law School.


6 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/grass-roots-immigration-reform---los-angeles-times/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/grass-roots-immigration-reform---los-angeles-times/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/grass-roots-immigration-reform---los-angeles-times/ Fundamental change usually proceeds from the bottom up, which is why it often blindsides most politicians and much of the media.
For example, the "tea party"-style rage that is this election cycle's defining characteristic grows out of a broad, if inchoate, sense that the American economy no longer apportions prosperity or opportunity in anything close to an equitable fashion. As David Cay Johnston reported Monday, last year the 74 highest-paid Americans each earned an average of $519 million annually - or about $10 million a week. That was up from $92 million the year before. At the same time, every measure of ordinary Americans' pay - total, average and median - fell from the previous year. Adjusted for inflation, median pay was actually less than it was 10 years ago.

Marriage equality is another question on which change is pushing up from the grass roots, with polls showing that increasing numbers of Americans now regard it as a civil rights issue. That's overwhelmingly true among the young, no matter their region or background.
Something similar may be occurring when it comes to immigration reform. As a Times/USC poll reported Sunday, nearly half of California's likely voters have a favorable view of immigrants, including those without papers. Fully 59% said that undocumented immigrants who have lived and worked here for at least two years should be allowed to remain. That's particularly significant because California is home to more immigrants than any other state.
You could catch a glimpse of this new consensus Sunday at Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, one of those places where the better angels of our city's nature tend to speak most clearly. Dolores, set among public housing projects, is among Los Angeles' poorest Roman Catholic parishes and long has been run by the Jesuits, the largest and most influential of the church's religious orders. Sunday, hundreds of people of all ages and ethnicities - parishioners, students at the order's schools and lay associates of its social justice initiatives - gathered to assist at a Mass on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform. As one of the celebrants, Homeboy Industries' Father Gregory Boyle, put it, they were there to "to imagine a circle of compassion and then to imagine no one standing outside that circle."


5 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/georgia-top-dems-make-soft-pitch-for-gay-votes---project-q-atlanta/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/georgia-top-dems-make-soft-pitch-for-gay-votes---project-q-atlanta/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:18 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/georgia-top-dems-make-soft-pitch-for-gay-votes---project-q-atlanta/ Top Democrats - including former Gov. Roy Barnes-mingled with LGBT politicos during a reception Monday, urging them to donate money and support them in the closing days of the campaign, but they did so without talking much about gay issues.
Barnes (top photo) was joined by state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, who is running for U.S. Senate; Carol Porter, who is campaigning for lieutenant governor; former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin; and Jane Kidd (second photo), chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, during a reception hosted by the state party's LGBT Caucus at the upscale Peachtree Club in Midtown.
With a week left until Election Day, the candidates and party officials hope to motivate LGBT voters to the polls next Tuesday. But when Barnes, Thurmond, Franklin and Kidd addressed the gay and straight crowd of about 70 people, none of them mentioned the word "gay" or discussed LGBT issues.
But all four did address gay and lesbian issues when pressed by reporters during the reception, with Thurmond outpacing the others on issues of equality. The former state lawmaker hopes to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, though polls show he faces steep odds. Libertarian Chuck Donovan is also in the race.
Thurmond (third photo) expressed support for repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and efforts to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"I am categorically opposed to any type of discrimination, particularly discrimination based on sexual orientation and as the next U.S. Senator, I will stand and do and fight however I need to ensure that that type of discrimination is removed from America and that all citizens are treated equally," Thurmond said.
Though he supports only civil unions, Thurmond said he doesn't back efforts to add an amendment banning gay marriage to the U.S. Constitution.
"The U.S. Constitution is our most sacred public document, and I think it would be inappropriate to attempt to change or amend the constitution in that regard, and I will not support it," Thurmond said.

Barnes was the first sitting governor in Georgia to appear before a gay organization-his talk in July 2000 to the Atlanta Executive Network-and later met with Georgia Equality and the Human Rights Campaign in the 2002 campaign. During his losing re-election campaign that same year, he also interviewed with the gay press a week before the election - a move similar to his facing LGBT reporters on Monday.
In August, Barnes reiterated his stance against gay marriage, affirming in an Associated Press interview that marriage "is between a man and a woman." He also said that he doesn't favor overturning Georgia's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. On Monday, Barnes said he would have supported the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage had he still been in office when it passed the General Assembly in 2004 and later was overwhelmingly approved by voters.
"I voted when I was in the General Assembly that a marriage was between a man and a wife," Barnes said. "I was not in the legislature in 2004 and neither was I governor, but I probably would have supported it in all candor."
Barnes did come out strongly in favor of a passing a new hate crimes law, but stopped short of supporting a statewide ban on protecting LGBT people in the workplace.
"I think that you will never get [employment non-discrimination legislation] passed in Georgia right now, so there is no use in burning a bridge before you even get there. I think what we have to do is concentrate on what is accomplishable and that is to encourage folks not to be discriminatory," Barnes said.
"I was a big advocate, as you recall, of the hate crimes statute that included any kind of gender orientation discrimination. It was difficult, but we got it passed, and I think those are accomplishable deals," he added. "I supported the hate crimes law last time, and I would support it again."
Barnes faces former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, who ran a bitterly anti-gay campaign during the GOP primary, and Libertarian John Monds, who appeared earlier this month in the Atlanta Pride Parade. The former governor criticized Deal for the tenor of his campaign.
"I will tell you this: Whether it is sexual orientation, whether it is women, whether it is some of the derogatory statements that he has had to make on African Americans, I don't think it is a way that a governor should run a campaign and I deplore it," Barnes said.
Barnes said that LGBT voters should look at his record as governor when they consider who to support.
"The way that I have always stated these issues is that there shouldn't be discrimination against anyone. I believe that was shown while I was governor. I did not ask anyone whether they were gay or straight, I chose the best person, and some of those happened to be gay. So I intend to do the same thing," Barnes said.

Porter (fifth photo), who has never held elective office, faces Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Libertarian Dan Barber. When pressed by a reporter about LGBT issues including hate crimes and workplace discrimination, Porter hesitated to take a stand. She recognized that "there is a huge gay population in Atlanta" but later questioned if workplace discrimination is "an issue now."
"Right now what I tell all of my friends that are Democrats is that we have all got to come together under a big tent that's got ‘the economy' written all over it," Porter said. "Because if we can't get this economy turned around, it doesn't matter who you are or how you self-identify, we are not going to move forward."

Franklin (bottom photo), the city's former mayor who supported LGBT issues and marriage equality during her two terms in office, offered a more blunt explanation of why gay voters should back statewide Democratic candidates.
"The future of Georgia hangs on this election in many ways," Franklin said. "We've had a very, very hateful set of discussions in this state about immigration, about gay issues, about African Americans, as if any of us are not rightfully Georgians, are not rightfully Americans. I think if Georgia is ready to claim its place as a progressive state, this is an important election."
"Even if the candidates are not exactly where you wan them to be on your issues, the Democratic ones are saying we want a big tent, we want everyone in the tent and the doors are open. You are not hearing that from the other side," she added.
Franklin also said that Barnes would be open to LGBT issues as governor.
"He is not hateful, he is not spiteful, he recognizes that gay people live in Georgia, that black people live in Georgia, that Latino people live in Georgia and all of us have a right, number one, to decent government, and fair access to the leaders and number two, that we have a right to have our issues discussed. So I think he will stand for equality including the gay and lesbian community," she said.
Kidd said that the reception is part of an outreach effort to LGBT voters by the state party, which last week also co-hosted a candidate mixer with the Atlanta Stonewall Democrats.
"Every group is important and especially groups that tend to be Democratic and support progressive issues and work for progressive candidates," Kidd said. "We are really trying to reach out to every group we can."




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20 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/our-picks-for-the-us-senate-and-house---chelsea-now/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/our-picks-for-the-us-senate-and-house---chelsea-now/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:17 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/our-picks-for-the-us-senate-and-house---chelsea-now/ an end to the Defense of Marriage Act.Even with the huge Democratic majorities in the first two years of Barack Obama's presidency, these goals - with the possible exception of Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal -have remained elusive.Because Hillary Clinton gave up her Senate seat when she became secretary of state, New York has the unique situation of two US Senate races this year. Neither has turned out to be particularly competitive. Still, some observations are in order regarding both Democratic incumbents.The state's senior senator, Chuck Schumer, first elected to the Senate in 1998, has evolved into a strong advocate for the full LGBT political agenda. In March of 2009, 13 years after he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in the House, the Brooklyn Democrat endorsed marriage equality.This year, he has been supportive of efforts by New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who last month introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill that incorporates the Uniting American Families Act, giving same-sex partners in binational couples the same rights as different-sex foreign spouses to enter the US.In September, Schumer recommended to the president that he appoint J. Paul Oetken - an out gay attorney who has done work with Lambda Legal and wrote a friend of the court brief supporting the successful 2003 challenge to the Texas sodomy law at the US Supreme Court - to the prestigious Southern District of New York federal bench.Schumer deserves the community's support on November 2.The state's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, named to fill Clinton's seat in early 2009, has emerged as one of the Senate's strongest LGBT allies. At a get-out-the-vote rally at the LGBT Community Center on October 27, out gay Upper West Side Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell said she "might as well be a member of the community."Gillibrand's Republican opponent has time and again made the charge that she flip-flopped politically on a number of key issues when she stepped into statewide office from a more conservative upstate congressional district. Surely, Gillibrand's views on gun control, for example, have become more progressive, but the oft-repeated assertion that her support for marriage equality was a Senate-appointment conversion aimed at complying with a requirement from Governor David Paterson is simply not true.Days before her first reelection contest in November 2008, Gillibrand announced her support for the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry on a radio program hosted by New York Post Albany bureau chief Fred Dicker. Shifting from a pro-civil union posture to endorsement of gay marriage three months earlier than supposed may not seem like a big deal, but it is a crucial distinction.Gillibrand, who won in an upset in 2006 in a traditionally Republican district, was no sure bet for reelection -- and she had no reason to anticipate that November that a Senate vacancy was about to open up.And Dicker's radio show was certainly no friendly venue to announce embrace of full equality.Since she arrived in the Senate, Gillibrand has distinguished herself particularly on the issue of Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, playing a pivotal role in pressing for the early 2009 hearing by Armed Services Chair Carl Levin at which Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chair Michael Mullen first stated their support for ending the policy.With Minnesota's Al Franken, Gillibrand is also taking the lead on an anti-bullying bill to protect LGBT students and those perceived to be.In less than two years, Kirsten Gillibrand has more than proven herself on LGBT issues and deserves enthusiastic support on Election Day.In House races in New York and New Jersey, at least 11 strong allies of the LGBT community face tough reelection races and deserve support between now and election day:Closest to home:On Staten Island, first-term Representative Mike McMahon (District 13) is running a good race, but is not yet fully in the clear. More information at: mikemcmahonforcongress.com.The five toughest races in New York are:On Long Island, four-term incumbent Tim Bishop (District 1). More information at: bishopforcongress.comIn the Hudson Valley, north of Westchester, two-term incumbent John Hall (District 19). More information at johnhallforcongress.com.Scott Murphy is battling to keep the Hudson Valley seat (District 20) previously held by Senator Gillibrand. More information at scottmurphyforcongress.com.In the far upstate seat that was hard-contested in a special election in 2009, first-term Representative Bill Owens (District 23) faces another very competitive race. More information at: billowensforcongress.com.In a district that includes the Utica and Binghamton areas, two-term incumbent Michael Arcuri (District 24). More information at: arcuriforcongress.com.In two other races, Democratic incumbents are ahead, but still face tough opposition:In a Delaware Valley seat northwest of the city, nine-term Congressman Maurice Hinchey (District 22). Hinchey has repeatedly scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign congressional scorecard. More information at: hincheyforcongress.org.In the Lake Ontario District 25 centered on Syracuse, first-term Representative Dan Maffei. More information at: maffeiforcongress.com.In New Jersey:First-term Representative John Adler is battling to hold on to his central New Jersey (District 3) seat. More information at: adlerforcongress.com.Two other incumbents are ahead, but still face tough races:In northern New Jersey's Atlantic coastal District 6, 11-term incumbent Frank Pallone, who has consistently had a strong pro-LGBT record. More information at: Pallonefornewjersey.com.In west-central New Jersey's District 12, which includes Princeton and Trenton, seven-term incumbent Rush Holt, who was one of only seven House members to vote no on the 2007 Employment Non-Discrimination Act to protest the lack of transgender protections. More information at: rushholt.com.For a complete record of positions taken by members of Congress on key LGBT political issues, visit the Human Rights Campaign Legislative Action Center at: hrc.org/your_community/elections.asp. For the latest analysis by the Cook Political Report on competitive congressional races, visit cookpolitical.com/races/house/chart.php. 

17 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/binational-couple-confronts-congressman-rush-holt-to-halt/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/binational-couple-confronts-congressman-rush-holt-to-halt/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:17 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/binational-couple-confronts-congressman-rush-holt-to-halt/
Please contact your …Please contact your representative and tell them to support The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA, H.R. 1024, S. 424). I'm also a person that has to live out side of the USA because my partner is French. This is unjust and unfair! It's time to make the law equal for everyone! Please support UAFA.



19 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/conversations-the-importance-of-story-telling/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/conversations-the-importance-of-story-telling/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:17 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/conversations-the-importance-of-story-telling/ So when the Michael Eric Dyson Radio Show invited me to tell my story as both a gay man and an immigrant, I jumped at the opportunity. I was able to shed light on the unique challenges faced by same-sex binational couples like my husband and me, as well as point out the many problems that beset America's immigration system. My interview begins at the 13:30 minute mark.




19 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/president-obama-glimmer-of-hope/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/president-obama-glimmer-of-hope/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:17 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/president-obama-glimmer-of-hope/ Even after he took office his rhetoric never ceased to be filled with promises and that progress was just around the corner. His speeches at such events as the HRC Dinner or mentioning DADT in the State of Union message were electrifying. He appointed hundreds more LGBT people to governmental positions than any other President in history. Constantly we were told that change was just around the corner and we had to be patient and understand the process. After many false hopes, major disappointment has set in with much of the LGBT community..

However we can never stop dreaming or hoping and perhaps, just perhaps we got a glimpse of hope yesterday. There is a pleasantly gnawing feeling in my gut that the President might have at long last heard our collective voices and understands that we will not be put off any longer. On Wednesday he met with a group of progressive bloggers and among them was Joe Sudbay of AmericaBlog. Thank God, Joe was in the meeting and he was just short of spectacular.



19 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-out4immigration-blog-dealing-with-victories-and-defeats/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-out4immigration-blog-dealing-with-victories-and-defeats/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:17 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-out4immigration-blog-dealing-with-victories-and-defeats/


6 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-love---gay-city-news/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-love---gay-city-news/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:15 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-love---gay-city-news/ Ojeda met 35-year-old Monica Alcota, who came to the US ten years ago from Argentina, and the couple married, also in Connecticut, on August 27. Lavi Soloway, an immigration attorney who represents both couples and many others in same-sex relationships, explained that Alcota and a former partner fled their home in a region of Argentina near the Chilean border, fearing for their lives.Like Vandiver and Velandia, Ojeda and Alcota met online, though in their case it was a long-distance relationship initially, between Buffalo and Queens. The couple have lived together in Elmhurst since mid-2009, but next March, Alcota will go before an Immigration Judge, an official of the Justice Department, to argue against her deportation.Any couple would dread the prospect that one spouse might, for political reasons, be forcibly removed from their home and sent to another country. Such separation, however, is not merely hypothetical for Ojeda and Alcota. In mid-2009, out of nowhere, Alcota found herself in federal detention. It is not hyperbole to characterize the circumstances as draconian.When Ojeda finished up her master's program in Buffalo, she weighed whether to find work there or in New York City; Alcota's profession restoring antiques afforded the couple flexibility as to where they settled. Once Ojeda accepted a job in New York, the couple went to Buffalo to collect the last of her belongings, traveling by bus since Alcota lacks the documents required to fly.While returning to the city, their bus was stopped by the US border patrol - something that has become routine in areas adjoining Canada and Mexico. Alcota was pulled off the bus.Describing the ordeal as "horrible," Ojeda recalled asking the officials whether she should stay nearby pending Alcota's release. She was advised to continue on to New York, a well-founded recommendation. Alcota spent the next three months in federal detention - the first few days in an upstate county jail.The status of Alcota's detention was so uncertain that after Ojeda confirmed plans with the upstate jail to visit her there, she suddenly found out her partner had been transported to a privately managed federal facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she spent the remainder of her incarceration."I have no words to describe how I felt," Ojeda recalled. Through two interviews, Alcota made little headway in convincing immigration officials that she feared for her safety in going back to Argentina."It's absurd," Ojeda said. "How does he know she is not afraid?"Finally, an Immigration Judge - a woman, the couple noted - saw Alcota and determined that she had "a reasonable fear" of persecution should she be returned to Argentina.When Alcota next appears before an Immigration Judge, part of Soloway's strategy will depend on demonstrating that the "reasonable fear" justifies a grant of asylum. Argentina, which legalized marriage equality earlier this year, may not seem like a country that US officials will deem unsafe for a lesbian, but the couple and Soloway emphasize that not all of Argentina is Buenos Aires; Alcota's home town - the sort of place "where everybody knows your business," in Ojeda's words - is located all the way across the country from the capital."She always had to watch how she used to be, how she used to walk, what she used to wear," Ojeda explained.But, for the couple, their predicament involves a fundamental issue separate from Alcota's fear of returning to her country of birth. As the spouse of an American citizen, she should be allowed to stay in the US, just as any heterosexual husband or wife would be able to as of right.That argument is integral to the legal efforts Soloway is pursuing for both couples."Somebody is dictating where we can live, and it shouldn't be that way," Ojeda said. Then, explaining that her college activism only partially prepared her for what she is facing now, she added, "Before, I was doing it for everybody's sake. Now it is closer to home. I know it's not okay what is happening to us."That gut appreciation for the wrongness of the way binational gay and lesbian couples are treated in the US also comes through loud and clear from Vandiver and Velandia.Asked what they would do if Velandia's case before an Immigration Judge is unsuccessful, Vandiver seemed almost incredulous at the question. "We can't go back to Venezuela," he said.To be sure, Velandia has anxieties about his ability to live safely in Venezuela, answering, "Of course," when asked if he would be scared to be returned. People from his community back there have written negative comments about him being gay when they discovered it on Facebook.In his last conversation with his grandmother earlier this year, shortly before she died, she told him, "You know what you're doing is not right. I won't support that. I love you as my grandson, but I won't support that because of God."Recalling the conversation, Velandia said, "Basically, she condemned me and then she died." He told his grandmother, "I am with a human being who makes me happy, and I am in love with him and I can't change that."It is that love more than the potential for persecution Velandia might face in Venezuela that animates the couple when they discuss the hurdles they face.Pressed to explain specifically what he meant in saying the couple couldn't go to Venezuela, Vandiver said, "I mean that in the normative sense. We shouldn't even be thinking about that. It shouldn't be an issue that the spouse of an American citizen should be deported... I've never encountered discrimination, especially discrimination that's so powerful, that my love and my husband would be taken from me. And there's nothing I can do about it - that I as an American can't bring my spouse to this country just like every other American can. I find it ridiculous."Vandiver and Velandia speak about each other in terms strikingly personal, affectionate, and affecting, perhaps because in many ways, as Henry explained, they came out together. Velandia's success in his profession has included appearances on Univision, performing with some of the world's best salsa dancers, and it is not hard to imagine Vandiver, with his carefully groomed beard and effectively marshaled choice of words, sharing his scholarly enthusiasm with undergraduates (ironically, his dissertation focuses on "political anger").The background of neither man, however, would have predicted that they would live as a married gay couple in Princeton, New Jersey. Vandiver grew up in Swink, Colorado, a small town well southeast of Colorado Springs, Denver, and Boulder, the son of a former railway machinist who now works for the state Department of Transportation and an employee of the State Judiciary.Both men were deeply involved in evangelical Christian congregations growing up; Vandiver was a child preacher and considered that as a career path, and Velandia, at 17, became the only youth from his church to become a missionary, spending seven months in Britain.Velandia acknowledged feelings for men as a youth, but explained that his religion taught him that "you have to change yourself." While in the UK, however, he "began to learn more about myself. It's not like I said I'm gay, but I definitely knew I was dealing with something."Still uncertain about his sexuality when he moved to the US several years later to join his mother and sister in Princeton, he dated two women, the second for an extended period, during which, with her support, he acknowledged his homosexuality.For Vandiver, sexuality was something largely deferred in a youth in which Rush Limbaugh was a big influence. "Unlike Henry, I never had a girlfriend and was never interested in having one," he recalled. "I sort of remember taking a glance at some of the football players during the game… It wasn't until my senior year at Harvard that I started to come out to people. I knew before then, but it's a weird kind of knowing when you have so many beliefs and you come from a place like that, where it's not even possible to lead an openly gay life. It doesn't even enter into your choice of possibilities."Now, roughly a decade after each man set a course for change in his life, their marriage and home in Princeton is what they know and value."I married my husband, the love of my life, and it would be ridiculous to go back," Velandia explained. "It would be going into the past."In staking their claim to the right to continue their lives unfettered in the US, both couples are pressing the legal sanctity of their marriages as much as any arguments about the dangers of one spouse having to leave America. Vandiver and Ojeda have each recently filed Form I-130 with the Department of Homeland Security, a petition for an alien relative, "the spouse of USC"; the process generally take months before action is taken.For any different-sex couple, simply filing the form would excuse the spouse from any deportation proceeding before an Immigration Judge. Should either Velandia or Alcota go into their hearing before the I-130 is acted on, their having filed may or may not influence the Immigration Judge.According to Soloway, a judge could decide, before considering any asylum claim, to defer the case until the spousal claim is decided. It is, of course, likely that Homeland Security will reject both I-130s, citing the Defense of Marriage Act.However, because a US district judge in Massachusetts this past summer ruled that DOMA's provision blocking federal recognition of legal marriages by same-sex couples is unconstitutional, Vandiver and Ojeda can make reasonable arguments, before an Immigration Judge or in a civil court, that the question of their marriage's validity under immigration law is not yet a settled question.It's a good bet that DOMA's repeal is some years off, and final resolution of the Massachusetts constitutional challenge will also take more time than either couple may have. Similarly, prospects for reforming immigration law to allow foreign same-sex spouses to stay in the US on the same terms as those from different-sex couples are also uncertain - irretrievably enmeshed in the broader, culturally explosive debate.For now, what Soloway, Vandiver and Velandia, and Ojeda and Alcota are pressing for is a moratorium on deportation of same-sex spouses pending resolution of the DOMA and immigration issues. The pressure points for that advocacy are Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who report, Soloway notes, to a president who supports DOMA's repeal.Both couples, their attorney, and many other couples facing the heartbreaking prospect of separation understand that time is of the essence. Vandiver and Velandia already have nearly 3,200 fans on Facebook.com/SaveOurMarriage, which they recently launched to encourage people to press their elected representatives on the issue of halting deportations. Soloway, meanwhile, maintains the site stopthedeportations.com with the same aim.As Congress and the courts plod along toward justice, the best hope right now for Vandiver and Velandia and Ojeda and Alcota is in the hands of the president who pledged to be their "fierce advocate."

13 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-american-equality-bill-one-bill-for-equal-lgbt-civil-rights-join/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-american-equality-bill-one-bill-for-equal-lgbt-civil-rights-join/ Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:00:34 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-american-equality-bill-one-bill-for-equal-lgbt-civil-rights-join/
Please join this Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=278882199073&v=info&ref=ts
The American Equality Bill - ONE Bill for Equal LGBT Civil Rights

American Equality Bill is a proposed federal law that will amend all existing federal civil rights laws to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity".

Drafted by Karen Doering, an attorney who has been involved in some of the most important legal LGBT victories and controversies, the bill takes the approach that piecemeal bills for various areas of discrimination -- employment and housing and credit and so on -- will take too long and too many resources to be really successful.

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/march-in-dc-and-tell-congress-to-pass-uafa-now/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/march-in-dc-and-tell-congress-to-pass-uafa-now/ Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:19:24 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/march-in-dc-and-tell-congress-to-pass-uafa-now/
Current immigration policy unfairly discriminates against LGBT binational couples by not allowing U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor foreign-born partners for immigration. We must call on Congress for the swift passage of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), proposed legislation that would provide LGBT couples with the same immigration benefits as different-sex couples.

11 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/americans-gather-to-raise-awareness-of-their-plight-unequal-treatment-economic-hardship--force-exile/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/americans-gather-to-raise-awareness-of-their-plight-unequal-treatment-economic-hardship--force-exile/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:06:16 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/americans-gather-to-raise-awareness-of-their-plight-unequal-treatment-economic-hardship--force-exile/ Americans From Across the Nation Gather To Raise Awareness of Their Plight:
Unequal Treatment, Economic Hardship & Forced Exile

Contact: FB page, http://ctae.open-board.com/, twitter/zoeoka - let us know that you're coming!

Are you in a bi-national s/s couple but are stuck in exile or stuck in the U.S.? We are stand with you and with our own partners. Come on down.

If you can't make it then please twitter-follow 'zoeoka' and let's trend this event up through regular tweeting. If you're in a similar situation either in the U.S. or abroad, tell us about how the denial of LGBT immigration rights has affected you here on FB or Twitter.

On Sunday, March 21, 2010, Americans in same-sex binational partnerships will gather in the nation's capital at the Washington Monument to protest a situation that few Americans are aware exists. They are Americans who suffer human rights violations due to unequal treatment in U.S. law and policy that does not permit them to sponsor their foreign same-sex partners to live with them in the States. Tens of thousands of Americans are in the same heart-breaking predicament: they must choose between continuing their lives in the States or leaving America to live in exile - simply to preserve and protect their primary family relationships.

Vigil participants will carry pictures of themselves with their partners and represent binational families everywhere who are either separated, living in fear of deportation, or exiled in other countries where they are legally recognized as family units.

"Twenty-one countries around the world permit their citizens to sponsor same sex partners: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. This list demonstrates how behind the times America is when it comes to extending human rights and equal treatment under the law to all our citizens.

It is time to take [the] constraint off the committed same-sex partners of American citizens."
-Sen. Patrick Leahy, UAFA Judiciary Hearing, June 2009

If you're in D.C. but can't stay and Vigil, make us a sandwich or two, stop by and say hi! We'd love to see you... Thanks for your support.

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uafa-now-another-american-exiled-weekly-featured-story-melanie-nathan/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uafa-now-another-american-exiled-weekly-featured-story-melanie-nathan/ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:31:48 -0500 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uafa-now-another-american-exiled-weekly-featured-story-melanie-nathan/
a. UAFA (or equivalent) is passed into law, giving us our equal right to sponsor our partners for green-cards, equally; or

b. I run out of binational couples - The estimate is between 40,000-100,000 binationals which means I can keep writing - lets see- 2 per month for 12 months - divide into - lets do the smaller amount in case the big amount is inaccurate - so divide 24 into 40,000 = 1,666 years - please check my math….. okay I hope "a" happens first!

10 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/gutierrez-bill-affects-lgbt-people/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/gutierrez-bill-affects-lgbt-people/ Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:31:47 -0500 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/gutierrez-bill-affects-lgbt-people/
I asked Rachel about the lack of the UAFA provision, and she said: Immigration Equality is continuing to push hard to make sure all families...I wrote the other night about the Gutierrez immigration reform bill leaving out a major provision for LGBT bi-national couples to have the same access to sponsorship. Currently, if one member of an opposite-sex bi-national couple is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and the other is foreign-born, the U.S. citizen or permanent resident can sponsor the foreign-born individual for immigration benefits. Same-sex bi-national couples do not have this option. The Uniting American Families Act, sponsored by Rep. Nadler and Sen. Leahy, is a stand-alone bill towards this right. The Gutierrez immigration reform bill as introduced does not contain it, but Gutierrez and LGBT leaders in the House are hoping to add it in committee.


10 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/melanie-nathan-calls-for-moratorium-as-husband-of-us-citizen-denied-asylum/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/melanie-nathan-calls-for-moratorium-as-husband-of-us-citizen-denied-asylum/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:57:16 -0500 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/melanie-nathan-calls-for-moratorium-as-husband-of-us-citizen-denied-asylum/
In the meantime, pending legislation, which must happen and soon, I call on Senators Feinstein, Kerry, Gillibrand, Schumer, Frank to pave the way for binationals by enacting / introducing/Class Private Bill whatever it takes -a moratorium on all deportations of married LGBT spouses; by providing a special Visa Program with status for married LGBT couples (perhaps one that can sunset pending a solution or legislation- similar to the R1 (religious workers visa program) for married lesbians and gay spouses.

When I was ...

5 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/pass-the-uniting-american-families-act/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/pass-the-uniting-american-families-act/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:20:26 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/pass-the-uniting-american-families-act/
1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/senator-leahy-and-rep-nadler-plea-for-inclusion-of-uafa-and-i-say-now/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/senator-leahy-and-rep-nadler-plea-for-inclusion-of-uafa-and-i-say-now/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:15:15 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/senator-leahy-and-rep-nadler-plea-for-inclusion-of-uafa-and-i-say-now/
What I find most interesting is the Article's heading - "PASS THE UNTING AMERICAN FAMILES ACT" and so I hold hope that Senator Leahy and Rep. Jerrold Nadler will continue to lead and motivate to acheive this ultimate goal. I am still urging Immigration Equality to work on the underlying impediments to UAFA with Senator Leahy and Rep. Nadler. Please work on the Feinstein concern - the underlying contractual nexus issue - it is the ultimate key to passage and you have known this since...

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/gay-couples-challenge-federal-marriage-law-as-republicans-prepare-for-battle/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/gay-couples-challenge-federal-marriage-law-as-republicans-prepare-for-battle/ Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:25:45 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/gay-couples-challenge-federal-marriage-law-as-republicans-prepare-for-battle/
But they file their federal taxes as single individuals, paying hundreds of dollars more each year. That's because a law called the Defense of Marriage Act bars federal agencies from recognizing gay marriages.

Backers of gay rights are pushing to repeal the law, buoyed by a growing acceptance of same-sex marriage, which is now legal in six states.

But Republicans on Capitol Hill are ready to fight....

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-end-of-the-affair-texas-monthly-september-2009/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-end-of-the-affair-texas-monthly-september-2009/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:04:49 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/the-end-of-the-affair-texas-monthly-september-2009/
1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/responsible-tourism-and-immigration-reform/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/responsible-tourism-and-immigration-reform/ Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:13:38 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/responsible-tourism-and-immigration-reform/
Although I believe that the United States needs broad immigration reform across immigrant populations, as half of a bi-national lesbian couple and as the teacher of many undocumented high school students, I can recommend two good places to start: the DREAM Act and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)....

19 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/it-is-time-we-stop-tearing-lgbt-families-apart-pass-the-uniting-american-families-act/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/it-is-time-we-stop-tearing-lgbt-families-apart-pass-the-uniting-american-families-act/ Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:13:36 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/it-is-time-we-stop-tearing-lgbt-families-apart-pass-the-uniting-american-families-act/
The resolution passed the committee on a party line vote of 6 - 3 and it is now headed to the floor of California's Assembly for a vote. If the resolution passed, it would put the state of California on record as supporting UAFA as well as its inclusion in the Reuniting Families Act (RFA) as introduced by Rep Mike Honda.

This issue is very important to me because I am an immigrant from Singapore who met and fell in love with my husband, 14 years ago. Although I am one of the 18,000 couples whose marriage last year is still being recognized by the State of California, my relationship is not recognized or accepted at the Federal level....

19 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/california-assembly-judiciary-committee-will-be-hearing-testimony-on-uafa-resolution/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/california-assembly-judiciary-committee-will-be-hearing-testimony-on-uafa-resolution/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:26:57 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/california-assembly-judiciary-committee-will-be-hearing-testimony-on-uafa-resolution/
The resolution, introduced by Assembly Member Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and co-sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE), formally requests that the US Congress pass and President Barack Obama sign the UAFA. Under current federal law, American citizens are permitted to sponsor an opposite-sex (Uniting American families Act spouse applying for legal residency. The UAFA would extend this basic right to committed same-sex couples, who are currently prohibited from sponsoring their partners.


8 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/national-equality-march-in-washington-human-rights-campaign/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/national-equality-march-in-washington-human-rights-campaign/ Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:26:31 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/national-equality-march-in-washington-human-rights-campaign/
"With thousands of LGBT people and allies coming to Washington to make a difference, it's our mission to help them become the citizen lobbyists that they want and need to be," said HRC President Joe Solmonese...

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/choosing-between-love-and-country/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/choosing-between-love-and-country/ Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:31:45 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/choosing-between-love-and-country/
CONGRESS AND THE White House are committed to moving forward with comprehensive immigration reform. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), chair of the subcommittee charged with overseeing immigration, recently said that he will have a bill ready for consideration by Labor Day. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised, once the Senate votes on its version, to bring a similar measure to a vote in her chamber, too.?

Including our families in comprehensive immigration reform, if successful, will not only be a watershed moment for couples impacted directly by discriminatory immigration policies.?It also will be an important accomplishment for the community as a whole. If LGBT voters bring new support to a large, comprehensive bill, we also bring credibility to other fights that impact our families, too. That's why it is so important that our community support comprehensive immigration reform and urge Congress to pass an inclusive reform package that benefits us. There is a real opportunity, right now, to score a legislative victory.

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/dadt-uafa-food-for-thought/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/dadt-uafa-food-for-thought/ Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:54:46 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/dadt-uafa-food-for-thought/
13 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/forging-an-effective-compromise-between-comprehensive-immigration-reform-and-leadership/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/forging-an-effective-compromise-between-comprehensive-immigration-reform-and-leadership/ Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:50:28 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/forging-an-effective-compromise-between-comprehensive-immigration-reform-and-leadership/
i am also in gay binational relationship, i am forced to live separated from my partner for last 3 years. can you imagine pain that we have to go true every day. i would move out of usa to live with my partner, but i can not leave my sick mother behind. why would i have to move out of usa in the first place. immigration law is not fair and it needs change. please do not forget to include UAFA in final CIR bill. we deserve to be together with our loved ones...

1 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-families-might-not-be-that-easy/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-families-might-not-be-that-easy/ Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:16:42 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/uniting-american-families-might-not-be-that-easy/
As expected, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who usually champion immigration fights, said it would not support a measure that has a same-sex provision.

This group went to far as to write to Representative Mike Honda, insisting that the provision would "erode the institution of marriage and family by according marriage-like immigration benefits to same sex relationships."

Excuse me? Are they that insulated, or do they have their heads up their asses? Have they really not noticed that heterosexuals have single-handedly eroded the institution of marriage all by themselves? Perhaps if they visit the GOP side of the aisle they can see marriage erosion up close and personal.

19 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/under-pressure-nclrights/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/under-pressure-nclrights/ Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:05:40 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/under-pressure-nclrights/
I promised I would provide concrete steps for keeping the pressure on the President and his administration, and here are five items that need action from this President NOW. You get a gold star and my unending esteem if you do all of them!

Please contact the President and urge him to...Make good on his promise that passage of the Uniting All Families Act (UAFA) is one of the top priorities for the Department of Justice. UAFA is a proposed bill that would provide same-sex couples with the same immigration benefits as opposite-sex couples. If passed, UAFA would allow U.S. citizens and permanent residents to file a visa petition on behalf of their foreign national same-sex permanent partners, allowing them to immigrate to the U.S. and adjust their status to become lawful permanent residents. The Obama Administration has explicitly stated that it supports passage of this bill. Please also contact your Representative in favor of passage of UAFA.

20 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/what-is-the-uniting-american-families-act/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/what-is-the-uniting-american-families-act/ Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:22:06 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/what-is-the-uniting-american-families-act/
20 Vote(s) ]]> http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/massachusetts-sues-feds-over-defense-of-marriage-act/ http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/massachusetts-sues-feds-over-defense-of-marriage-act/ Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:34:10 -0400 uluckidog immigration equality rights http://imeq.us/info2/category/immigration-equality-rights/massachusetts-sues-feds-over-defense-of-marriage-act/
The federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define and regulate marriage as it sees fit, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. The 1996 law denies federal recognition of gay marriage and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, argues the act "constitutes an overreaching and discriminatory federal law." It says the approximately 16,000 same-sex couples who have married in Massachusetts since the state began performing gay marriages in 2004 are being unfairly denied federal benefits given to heterosexual couples.

"They are entitled to equal treatment under the laws regardless of whether they are gay or straight," Coakley said at a news conference to discuss the lawsuit....

1 Vote(s) ]]>