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Grassroot sloggers amount to a handful, a small dedicated group that has done an enormous amount of work with no resources at hand. This group of people, some under the Out4Immigration banner and others unpaid independent activists have fought hard for the ideal of one basic right – Equality – and in this instance equality under the immigration law.

Gays and Lesbian spouses in the USA cannot sponsor foreign born partners for immigration to the USA, commensurate with that very right, freely exercised by different-gender couples.

Contextually, this fight has been going on for well over a decade and has a history of Bills introduced, none of which garnished as much traction as the Bill introduced by Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New last year, The Uniting AMERICAN Families Act. (UAFA)
Evangelical leaders on the far right held a press call Wednesday urging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass comprehensive immigration reform but exclude LGBT families from the legislation.

Groups such as the National Association of Evangelicals and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference have joined Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of the conservative legal group Liberty Counsel, in vehemently opposing inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow American citizens and green card holders to sponsor their foreign-born same-sex partners for residency.

This is big news. Although Rep. Gutierrez had initially introduced CIR legislation that omitted us, he is now committing to include us! (Thanks, maybe to the Senate's Democrat-only "framework" for comprehensive immigration reform?)
California Democratic representative Maxine Waters, a member of the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on immigration, has cosponsored legislation that would provide immigration rights to binational gay couples and their families.

Waters’s support comes at a crucial time for LGBT immigration reform. Last week 60 Congress members issued a letter to President Barack Obama and congressional leaders urging passage of the legislation, originally introduced in the House by New York representative Jerrold Nadler and in the Senate by Vermont’s Patrick Leahy.
On Sunday, March 21st, thousands will march in Washington for March for America, to call on Congress for comprehensive immigration reform. Please join NCLR and Immigration Equality and send a message that comprehensive reform must include LGBT families too!

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.
Here is the plan – I will post a new true life story, bi- monthly featuring a story of one binational lesbian or gay couple who are either in hiding in the US, waiting for a visa to run out, living in exile or living alone unable to be with a beloved partner. I vow to do this until one of two things happen first:

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!
There has been a recent bevy of co-sponsors signing onto the Uniting American Families Act, the legislation that seeks to provide Lesbian and Gay Americans with the right to Petition for their same-sex spouses/ partners to live in the USA. This law merely seeks to place the words “permanent partners” into the existing Immigration and Naturalization Act. This is no time to let up, but rather imprtant that we make the most of the momentum. I have 14 couples I am trying to help remain together in the US. That is a tip of the iceberg. They are all desperate. They want to stay together and they want to stay at home. We need UAFA legialstion and awareness of the binational issue more so than ever. Please I am asking for your help.
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Today the news was immense when Senator Arlen Specter sign his support to the Bill. In June this year the Senator attended and spoke at
Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (and formerly that committee’s Republican Chairman), has signed on as a cosponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

At last June’s Senate Judiciary Committee UAFA hearing, Specter expressed strong support for ending discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans and their families in immigration law. Immigration Equality applauds Senator Specter for his support for LGBT binational families.

Eight of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s twelve Democrats are now cosponsors of UAFA. A ninth, Senator Ted Kaufman of Delaware, recently publicly stated his support for equal immigration rights for LGBT families
This may be interpreted to confirm that CIR will in fact include UAFA, when introduced by Senator Schumer. However in August of 2009, when I asked Julie Kruse of Immigration Equality why would we be concerned that an overt champion of UAFA and LGBT issues such as Schumer would fail to include LGBT in CIR, she cautioned that there was no guarantee that Senator Schumer would in fact include UAFA. However it would seem that Senator Gillibrand may now be providing some valuable insight as to what we can expect. ...

The Senator emphasized the importance of Senator Schumer introducing Immigration reform legislation by year’s end; and the fact that it is imperative that the legislation passes by Spring 2010, the latter in her estimation possibly being a last opportunity...
The time is now, lest immigration be maligned further. A nation born of immigrants, whether Hispanic, Asian, African, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, we are forgetting the forbearance shown our forefathers and forgoing the ... U.S. Representative Mike Honda, who represents California’s 15th Congressional district (including Silicon Valley) has long been a supporter of immigration reform. In today’s Roll Call (popular in-game newspaper on Capitol Hill), there is an opinion piece by Congressman Honda that refreshingly includes binational same-sex couples while giving examples of why the current immigration system must be reformed....

Another constituent, Judy Rickard, will permanently leave America this November in an effort to keep her family together. Under U.S. law, she cannot be reunited with her partner, Karin Bogliolo, a UK national. Judy would have preferred to
In an interview with David Thielen at the Huffington Post, Rep. Polis stated that we'd need 25 to 30 states allowing gay marriage to get Federal recognition.

We discussed the Defense of Marriage Act also (hey, I do know those two) and he think we will have to get to 25 to 30 states recognizing gay marriage and then the federal government will recognize it.
Apparently, Rep. Barney Frank, considered the most influential gay congressman, is not signing on to the DOMA Repeal bill due to his "strategic differences" with supporters of the bill. From the Washington Blade:
Earlier this week, Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-12) , a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) which would allow gays and lesbians to sponsor their foreign-born partners for citizenship, expressed her concerns about passing the bill as a part of larger immigration reform.
...
Speier’s view seems to have changed since a town hall earlier this year, where she indicated “the only way that bill is going to get passed is if its part of a larger immigration reform measure.” In addition to the standalone act, UAFA compatible language also exists in the omnibus immigration reform bill called Reuniting Families Act, sponsored by Congressman Mike Honda (CA-15).
In her short 16 months in Congress, Speier has proven herself to be a strong ally and advocate for the LGBT community, and was instrumental in staying the deportation of a lesbian mother this past sp
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) doesn't believe including pro-gay reforms in a comprehensive immigration bill is the best strategy to win rights for binational LGBT couples. And with Congress bogged down on passing health care reform legislation, she also cautioned LGBT activists not to expect any action on the issue until 2010.

"By making the bill comprehensive it does muddy the waters," said the freshman House member, who predicted "nothing will happen this year on immigration."...
Today at the meeting, the Congresswoman further endorsed her support with her commitment in response to a question that has been haunting me since June 4, 2009. I asked what she thought about UAFA as a stand-alone Bill, if it was still possible for it to gain passage and how UAFA ‘s incorporation into Comprehensive Immigration Reform would serve us – specifically “ would it shoot us in the toes?” She made two important points in her response:

She said “I have always made it a point to be honest with you and I can tell you there will be no immigration reform this year; and

That UAFA in Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a large and complicated initiative, would be much more troublesome and stated that she thought it was better if we pushed as a stand-alone ...

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Promoting public awareness of the need for fairness in immigration policy particularly as it relates to the rights of same-sex bi-national couples in the United States who seek equal immigration rights; Providing information regarding political issues relating to gay immigration equality issues, rights and policy.