Senate to hold first ever hearing on anti-gay policies in immigration law

 Thursday May 28, 2009  | International Law

Senator Patrick LeahySenator Patrick Leahy has announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will convene to discuss anti-gay policies in United States immigration law. The subject of the hearing is the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), a bill designed to allow gay and lesbian US citizens to sponsor their partners for residency in the United States. The hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 3rd, and represents the first time Congress has addressed the difficulties binational same-sex couples and their families face.

Immigration Equality, an organization committed to ending discrimination in immigration law, said the following:

The June 3rd hearing will not only be a milestone on our path to victory in Washington, but it will also be a watershed moment for ensuring that our families are part of the national conversation on immigration reform. This will be a powerful moment – and a significant step forward – in our work to educate lawmakers about our relationships and engage Congressional leaders on the issue [. . . .] The hearing is, quite simply, one of the most significant moments ever in our work to secure full equality for lesbian and gay binational couples.

An estimated 36,000 binational families are currently affected by United States policies that prohibit the sponsoring of ones partner in a same-sex relationship, according to Immigration Equality. At present, only 19 counties have laws permitting sponsorship for gay and lesbian couples.

The hearing will take place at 10:00am, and will be broadcast online on the Senate Judiciary Committee website.



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Discussion

Thank you Senator Leahy for your relentless support for same sex binational couples. You have no idea how much this legislation means to us.

In your opinion, what is a realistic time line for equal immigration rights? Will the UAFA be more likely to pass with the CIR or as a stand alone bill?

Thanks again,

Dimitri.

- dimitri, 05/28/09 at 1:52 pm

Hi, Dimitri.

President Obama has said that he would like to have concrete Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation by the end of this year. Though the gay community has been let down by some of Obama's other promises (repealing DOMA and DADT specifically), there is some indication that this might be a realistic timeline. He promised forums, debates, and hearings about the topic, and we're already seeing progress in this area, so I am optimistic that we will see followthrough with CIR by the end of 2009.

I think UAFA is more likely to pass with CIR than as a standalone bill simply because CIR has a lot of momentum right now. The "no special rights" platform of our opponents has been fairly successful, and UAFA by itself would likely face the same talking point. Combined with CIR, the criticism is less likely to stick.

As it is now, though, my guess is that opponents will try to play the groups that stand to benefit from CIR against one another (for instance, try to play on latent homophobia of hispanic communities, and latent racism of LGBT communities) and let us tear our own bill apart from the inside. As long as we can all maintain a unified front, I see success for UAFA within CIR.

Immigration reform is getting a lot of attention right now, and it is the perfect time to shine light on the difficulties faced by gay and lesbian binational couples. Provided nationalism and xenophobia do not derail the process, CIR with UAFA included looks likely in the near future.

Thanks for your question, Dimitri! I hope I have been helpful.

- Brian Cavner, 05/28/09 at 4:07 pm

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