Immigrant and LGBT Leaders Join National Day of Action for Inclusive and Humane Immigration Reform

San Francisco/East Bay for Comprehensive Immigration Reform 

Media Advisory for: 
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 

Contacts:
Erik Schnabel
Out4Immigration

(415) 377-0387
erikschnabel@hotmail.com

Jackie Shull-Gonzalez

Dolores Street Community Services/
San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN)
(415) 282-6209, ext 117
jackie@dscs.org

Immigrant and LGBT Leaders Join National Day of Action for Inclusive and Humane Immigration Reform

Community forms San Francisco/East Bay for Comprehensive Immigration Reform coalition in a campaign to call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that truly represents the diverse voices that make up the San Francisco and East Bay

What:  A Press Conference and rally with local immigrant leaders and elected officials. As Congress is drafting immigration reform legislation, local community leaders and elected officials are standing up to ensure that the issues that impact our local residents are addressed by including the following demands:

• An Inclusive and Fair Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, that includes an immediate “path” to citizenship without long waits;
• Inclusion of Same Sex families/couples to allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their non-citizen partner;
• Family unification provisions that end long waits and reunite families who are waiting for immigration paperwork;
• Undocumented youth are calling for family unity because the temporary Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is not a solution and will split their families, anything short of citizenship is not enough;
• Worker rights provisions, in particular ensuring worker protection in the context of an ineffective  E-verify program;
• An immediate end to deportations and to the flawed Secure Communities (“S-COMM”) program which has eroded the community’s trust in law enforcement while facilitating the ongoing racial profiling of immigrants; and
• Improved due process and humane policies for individuals in immigration detention, including those detained as a result of flawed border enforcement.

This press conference and rally also coincides with the National Week of Action for Inclusive Comprehensive Immigration Reform called by national LGBT organizations GetEQUAL, Out4Immigration and QUIT to ensure that comprehensive immigration reform includes LGBT families, in particular the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow U.S. Citizens who are in same-sex relationships with non-US citizens to sponsor their partners for immigration benefits.

When:  Tuesday, March 5^th, 2013

·      11:00 am-11:30 am – Press Conference/Rally

Where:  San Francisco City Hall – Front steps on Polk St.: 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco

Media Visuals: Elected leaders, Faith leaders, City Hall backdrop; crowd with banners, flags, “broken heart” images to symbolize family separations, and signs. 

Who: Confirmed local elected officials attending include San Francisco Supervisors John Avalos and David Campos.

Local leaders also speaking:

·       Brian Willingham- a gay Bay Area resident whose long-term partner Alfonso Garcia is currently in deportation proceeding because he is unable to sponsor him for immigration purposes even as a US citizen.

·       Wei Lee and Denia Perez- Wei is a member of ASPIRE and a DACA applicant, and Denia Perez is a member of Educators for Fair Consideration, will be speaking to the needs of undocumented youth and their families.

·       Reverend Tita Valeriano- will speak to the need for immigration detention reform and abuses by immigration officials along the border.

·       Agustin Ramirez- the ILWU Northern California Lead Organizer, will speak to the impact of immigration reform on workers rights and in particular the E-verify inclusion.

·       Cinthya Muñoz an organizer with Causa Justa/Just Cause and the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee- will speak to the call to immediately end deportations while waiting for immigration reform, and the impact of Secure Communities in terrorizing local immigrant communities.

·       Chris Barnett- whose undocumented partner is at risk of deportation because he is unable to sponsor his husband for a green card

Sponsoring organizations as part of the San Francisco/East Bay for Comprehensive Immigration Reform include the Alameda County United in Defense of Immigrant Rights, Asian Law Caucus, ASPIRE, Dolores Street Community Services, Educators for Fair Consideration, ILWU, Just Cause/Causa Justa, Out4Immigration, San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee, Young Workers United. National organizations involved in the National Week of Action for Inclusive Comprehensive Immigration Reform include GetEQUAL, Out4Immigration, and QUIP (Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project).

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