Immigration Issues Facing the LGBT Community

June 4, 2009

Caucus Co-Chairs, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA), and Jared Polis (D-CO), along with Caucus Vice Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY), sponsored a briefing on immigration issues facing the LGBT Community. LGBT Americans are not afforded the same rights as other Americans under current immigration laws. In fact, the LGBT community has long battled and continues to face a number of obstacles related to unequal immigration policies, from the complex array of legal issues facing transgender immigrants seeking legal status to the restrictions on travel and immigration for HIV positive individuals.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing on Wednesday, June 3 for S. 424, the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). The LGBT Equality Caucus staff briefing covered S.424's House companion bill (H.R. 1024) as well as other immigration legislation that specifically addresses the inclusion of LGBT families in immigration law. The briefing included testimony from some of the same witnesses that are testifying before the Senate, Shirley Tan, Jay Mercado and their sons, who were recently featured in People Magazine in the article, “Gay Mom Faces Deportation,” as well as speakers from Immigration Equality and the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund.

You can see pictures of the briefing here