Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Attend Fundraiser for LGBT Immigrants’ Rights Organization

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is among those who are expected to attend a fundraiser for an LGBT immigrants’ rights organization in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Schultz is among the 123 co-sponsors of the Uniting American Families Act, which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow American citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration purposes. New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced UAFA in April.

Immigrant Advocates: LGBT Groups Aren't Doing Enough

The immigration debate within the movement for LGBT rights continues as this article I wrote for EDGE earlier this week. Blogger Jasmyne Cannick sparked widespread outrage last April with her assertion that equality for LGBT Americans should come before equality for immigrants. The movement almost universally condemned her comments but the door remains ajar for accusations of hypocrisy on this issue. Its leaders are quick to point out that they care about LGBT immigrants and LGBT bi-national couples but their own record on these issues, one can conclude, indicates otherwise.

Less than six weeks after an HIV-positive Mexican transgender woman died in federal custody, a forum that included a prominent member of Congress took place in New York that illuminated the plight of LGBT immigrants and bi-national couples.

The forum took place at the LGBT Community Center in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Aug. 28. More than 150 people attended the event, which was co-sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and the New York-based group Immigration Equality. New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler [D-Lower Manhattan] was among five panelists who called upon the federal government to lift what they maintain are unfair and discriminatory laws.

"Unfortunately same-sex couples who are committed to spend their lives together are not recognized as families under current federal law," Nadler said. "The law should never be unnecessarily or gratuitously cruel."

Nadler wrote the proposed Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) that would allow gays and lesbians to sponsor their foreign-born partners to immigrate to the United States. He reintroduced UAFA earlier this year. U.S. Sen. Patrick Lahey [D-Vt.] followed suit in the Senate. All of the Democratic presidential candidates support UAFA.

Opponents maintain the bill would provide a back door to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. Some even claim UAFA opens the door to increased fraud. HRC Senior Counsel Cristina Finch quickly dismissed these arguments. "It’s an excuse," she said at the Aug. 28 meeting. "It has something to do with homophobia and not seeing our relationships as the same as heterosexual couples."

Gay Men’s Health Crisis Assistant Director for Research and Federal Affairs Nancy Ordover agreed. She co-chairs the Lift the Bar coalition that seeks to end the long-standing ban on HIV-positive immigrants from immigrating into the country. President Bush announced on World AIDS Day last December that his administration planned to review this policy.

Ordover delivered a blunt assessment of the White House’s announcement. "It didn’t do anything for HIV-positive immigrants," she said. "Nor did it promise to."

The immigration debate remains an issue with which the movement for LGBT rights continues to struggle. Immigration Equality remains at the forefront of efforts to highlight LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants while the HRC, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force are among the national organizations that have devoted resources and even staff to advocate for these causes.

Bienestar, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center and Equality California were among the organizations that joined the Mexican American Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF) and other pro-immigrant organizations at a vigil in Downtown Los Angeles late last month to pay homage to Victoria Arellano, 23, who died in a Southern California federal detention facility. Her family and fellow detainees claim Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) denied her necessary HIV medication. She was the third detainee to die at the San Pedro facility since 2004.

An ICE spokesperson confirmed to EDGE in a previous interview that more than 60 others have died in its detention facilities since 2004. Arellano’s family plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal law enforcement agency.

Some within the LGBT rights movement, such as Glenn Magpantay of the Gay and Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY) maintain that gay groups have failed to advocate on behalf of LGBT immigrants. "On the whole, our community has done squat on immigrants and LGBT immigrants," he told EDGE after the New York forum. "Gay immigrants are at the door of our community. We need to stand up and speak out."

Argentina-born filmmaker Sebastian Cordoba agreed. His documentary "Through Thick & Thin" chronicles seven bi-national LGBT couples who share their personal stories about their struggles with the American immigration system. Cordoba, who now lives in Brooklyn, hopes his film sparks renewed interest and activism in the LGBT movement. "This is something Americans should be fighting for," he said.

George Wu, of the Washington-based Asian American Justice Center, and MALDEF Staff Attorney Eric M. Gutiérrez agreed as they answered audience questions during the forum. Gutiérrez conceded these issues often pose challenging questions. Activists within both the LGBT and immigration rights movements need to put aside their differences if they hope to secure significant changes to the current immigration system, he said: "We need to join forces. At some point you have to stop saying that’s us and that’s them."

Ordover also embraced this message. "If it’s not good for immigrants, it’s not going to be good for LGBT immigrants or HIV positive immigrants," she said.

Gays Discuss Immigration, U.S. HIV Ban

More than 150 activists and LGBT New Yorkers gathered at the LGBT Community Center in Lower Manhattan earlier this week to discuss immigration and other-related issues which continue to effect LGBT people and LGBT bi-national couples. The movement for LGBT rights loves to hold these forums as a way to show their constituency that they remain focused on any given issue. I covered this forum for the Blade and for EDGE and the panelists discussed this issue from their various point of expertise. The challenge remains, however, how to move beyond the choir who clearly understands the importance of rectifying problematic policies and laws against their brothers and sisters. Good sound bites, talking points and public appearances are simply not enough in many peoples' perspectives. The movement arguably needs to acknowledge this discontentment as it continues to struggle how to reach beyond the LGBT choir.

As immigration continues to emerge as a hot button issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, it also remains a principal concern of the country’s LGBT community.

During a local forum about same-sex immigration rights, the United State’s ban on HIV-positive immigrants garnered much discussion. And Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced his continuing support of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). The bill allows gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-national partners for green cards.

“Unfortunately same-sex couples who are committed to spend their lives together are not recognized as families under current federal law,” Nadler said. “The law should never be unnecessarily or gratuitously cruel. I am confident that we will succeed because this is a matter of basic fairness and compassion.” Nadler first introduced the bill in 2000, then reintroduced it in May of this year. It has 84 co-sponsors; the sponsor in the Senate is Patrick Lahey (D-Vt.).

About 36,000 same-sex bi-national couples live in the U.S. today, according to a Human Rights Watch report titled “Family Values.” This number represents about 6 percent of all gay couples in the country, according to Immigration Equality.

The immigration forum was held Tuesday, Aug. 18, at The LGBT Center on West 13th Street. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Immigration Equality sponsored the event. In addition to Nadler, panelists included representatives from Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, the Asian American Justice Center and Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC).

In the audience was Argentina-born filmmaker Sebastian Cordoba, who filmed a documentary “Through Thick & Thin,” which chronicles seven bi-national couples tackling the immigration system.

“This is something Americans should be fighting for,” said Cordoba about the UAFA. He hopes the film sparks renewed activism among LGBT activists and everyday people.

About 20 countries allow some sort of immigration benefit for same-sex couples. All the major Democratic presidential candidates support the UAFA.

Immigration opponents contend that the UAFA is a step toward legalize marriage for same-sex couples. They also claim the UAFA provides an opportunity for undocumented immigrants to fraudulently enter the country. Both Nadler and HRC Senior Counsel Cristina Finch dismissed these claims. “It’s homophobia and not seeing our relationships as the same as heterosexual couples,” HRC’s Finch said.

The recent death of an HIV-positive Mexican transgender immigrant in a Southern California federal detention center in July has sparked renewed interest among some LGBT activists in the HIV ban.

The White House announced on World AIDS Day last December that it would review the federal government’s long-standing ban against HIV-positive foreign nationals from entering the country. GMHC assistant director for research and federal affairs Nancy Ordover, who also co-chairs the Lift the Ban coalition, said the administration has failed to act on its own proposal.

“It didn’t do anything for HIV-positive immigrants,” she said. “Nor did it promise to.”

Immigration Equality remains at the forefront for many LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants. But not everyone within the LGBT movement thinks this is a priority.

Blogger Jasmyne Cannick sparked widespread outrage last April after she suggested in a column published in The Advocate that LGBT Americans should receive equality before immigrants. George Wu of the Washington-based Asian American Justice Center, Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund Legislative Staff Attorney Eric M. Gutiérrez and other panelists disagreed.

“We need to join forces,” Gutiérrez said. “Stop saying that’s us and that’s them.”

Ordover pointed to what she described as the parallels between immigration and LGBT-specific issues. “If it’s not good for immigrants, it’s not going to be good for LGBT immigrants or HIV positive immigrants,” she said.

Glenn Magpantay of the Gay and Pacific Islander Men of New York was more blunt. He criticized the LGBT movement for what he described as its continued inaction on behalf of immigrants.

“Our community has done squat on immigrants,” Magpantay told The Blade after the forum. “Gay immigrants are at the door of our community [and] we need to stand up and speak out.”

The Unintended Cost of American Immigration Policy

The detention of more than 300 undocumented workers at a New Bedford, Mass., factory earlier this month was the latest in a series of high-profile raids in the federal government's ongoing efforts to curb undocumented immigration into the United States. The raid left dozens of children stranded at school or with their caretakers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] quickly transported more than 200 of the factory workers to detention centers in New Mexico and Texas. Mothers were, in many cases, unable to speak with their children and published reports even indicate one baby who was breast-feeding was hospitalized for dehydration after authorities took her mother into custody.

This latest raid demonstrates yet again the unnecessary human suffering the federal government's continued purge of undocumented immigrants has inflicted on families in this country. Children, many of whom were born in the United States and are American citizens, remain victims of a policy motivated by xenophobic officials who continue to place their own political and personal objectives over the basic humanity and dignity of those who are most directly impacted. Case in point; the Los Angeles Times reported last month on the plight of 9-year-old Khadijah Bessuges and her father Sebastien [www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig10feb10,0,3154088.story?coll=la-home-nation]. The two are currently detained in an 8-by-15 foot cell at the T. Don Hutto family detention center in Taylor, Texas. Khadijah and her father were placed into custody in Phoenix a day after Bessuges visited a federal immigration center to extend his visa. This family is part of the Department of Homeland Security's most recent plan to detain undocumented immigrants until their cases go before a judge.

These camps are symbolic of the strong tide of anti-immigrant sentiment, especially against non-White and non-English speaking people, that continues to manifest itself in federal and state governmental policy. Proponents of these policies continue to justify these crackdowns as a necessary tool to protect the United States from terrorists and future terrorist attacks. Terrorists? Do Khadijah Bessuges and her father really constitute a threat to national security? Are the more than 300 factory workers detained in New Bedford, who made vests and backpacks for U.S. military personnel [abcnews.go.com/Business/print?id=2942118], really terrorists? Most likely not, but these raids continue to deny these people and their families their basic humanity and dignity that this country repeatedly claims to export to countries around the world.

There is certainly no easy answer to remedy this unfortunate situation. But Massachusetts Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Coalition Executive Director Ali Noorani sums it up best in a recent interview with the Associated Press. Noorani told the news agency "As a country, we should not put our youngest citizens at risk of hunger, homelessness and living without parents." Indeed. This country can certainly do much better.