Same-Sex Binationals Left Out of Immigration Bill

Last night, many of us watched the Senate Judiciary hearings on immigration reform with a heavy heart ...

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was forced to withhold critical amendments that would have added protections for same-sex binational couples due to lack of support from his own party.

We needed all the Democrats on the committee to support these amendments. Unfortunately, Senators Schumer, Feinstein, Durbin and Franken sided with eight Republicans to ensure that the immigration bill moving forward is not inclusive, is not comprehensive and will discriminate against legally married gay and lesbian Americans with foreign spouses.

The Democrats who sided with the Republicans - Schumer, Feinstein, Durbin and Franken have betrayed the very LGBT constituencies who have supported them throughout their political careers. It is questionable whether any of them would be in power today without our votes. Each of these leaders talks about marriage equality and ending discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans, but last night, when they had the chance to show they meant what they said, they failed the LGBT community and all Americans who believe in equality and fairness.

We thank Senator Leahy for his courage in this uphill battle against bigotry and politicians like the Senators named above, along with Senators Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Jeff Flake and John McCain, who insisted that the inclusion of mere 36,000 people would derail a bill that offers so much hope to more than 11 million.

Please take a minute to thank Senator Leahy for being a true hero and for having the courage of his convictions.

Call or tweet him today at 202-224-4242; Twitter: @SenatorLeahy

We also thank our allies in the LGBT, faith and immigrant rights' communities who have stood with us over the years, and especially during this fight for our inclusion in the bill. We could not have brought our issue so far, so fast without your help.

The question, of course, on all our minds is - what next?

We are heartened, empowered and emboldened by these images that collectively sum up our work over the years - and we will continue to look to them for strength in the coming weeks.

Just last week, a small army of our volunteers here in the San Francisco Bay Area came to San Francisco City Hall to tell their stories of how immigration discrimination and marriage inequality has impacted their lives. We then rushed downtown to Senator Feinstein's office to hand deliver a petition with more than 6,000 signatures urging her to support the Leahy amendments.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Since the beginning of Out4Immigration, we have urged couples to tell their stories. We have collected hundreds of stories over the years. In the last few weeks we have been circulating these 24 stories we have collected since President Obama promised us in Las Vegas in January that we would be part of immigration reform. Each story we collect has a photo. For every image there is another harrowing tale of discrimination, denial, financial hardship, career loss, separation, exile and decisions no American should have to make. And, yet each story is filled the remarkable love of two people who remain committed to one another against all odds. Each story hangs onto what each couple has left of hope that we will soon live in a world where equality trumps bigotry and hate.

 

“I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living."

- Harvey Milk.

Two years ago, a group of us worked with Brynn Gelbard and the DeVote Campaign to make a video talking about the lack of immigration rights and DOMA. This was shortly after President Obama had declared DOMA unconstitutional, but before he had announced his support of marriage equality. It was at a time when same-sex marriages were only legal in a handful of states and same-sex binational couples were often told not to get married because it could jeopardize our immigration status. While we still wait for justice, much has happened in our favor in the past two years.

Of most significance: At the time this video was shot, just one couple was legally married. Today – everyone you see in this video is legally married and ready to take part in equal immigration rights, whether they come from our legislative, executive and/or judicial branch of government.

PLAY VIDEO NOW

“The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall

never die.” - Sen. Edward Kennedy.

What next for same-sex binationals? We want to hear from you. Email us at info@out4immigration.org with your suggestions.

Our Story: Ashlee & Ky

"The worst part is the ever present fear that lingers in our minds."

Ky and I met early in 2004 as undergraduate students at Purdue. I can still remember that first night; we spoke long into the night (rather, I mostly listened because I was shy). From then on Ky’s been in my heart and on my mind, despite my many attempts to eject her from my life.

See, the price of loving Ky was my identity, my lifestyle, and my family. I was raised in a fundamentalist, separatist Christian denomination which had a lot of rules. No sports, no jewelry, no dancing, no joining the military, no going to movies, no taking communion at other churches, no dating, definitely no dating someone of the same sex!

Though leaving that life behind and forging a new one without any support was tremendously difficult, I can say with no hesitation that bringing Ky into my life was the best thing God could have done for me. Together, Ky and I have overcome many obstacles and differences. Aside from unsupportive families and friends, we held different religious and cultural beliefs. I was a devout Christian, and she was skeptical about my religion. I am an American from a quiet town in a fly-over state; she is Chinese and grew up in third world Paraguay. As a child (even into adulthood) my parents had me on a short leash; her parents moved away when she was nine leaving her with guardians who gave her free rein. On personality tests, our scores land us on opposite ends of the personality spectrum.

While we have prevailed over a lot, we are still threatened by our unstable future here in the US. Our path this far hasn’t been easy. Because Ky is not American, and we are not granted the same rights as heterosexuals - the right to obtain a federally recognized marriage - all our major and many minor life decisions have hinged on our inability to secure a green card for Ky. We’ve uprooted twice following student and work visas around the country, which is a huge financial, emotional, and social disruption. I worked to provide for our family when Ky was prohibited by law to hold a job, and we lived on a single income against our wishes (and to Ky’s dismay).

Ky felt like a prisoner inside of our borders, refusing to leave the country for nearly eight years for fear of not being allowed reentry. She did not see her parents and two brothers during that time. She missed saying goodbye to her grandmother on her deathbed. She missed the funerals of two grandparents, the birth and first year of her only niece, and her own brother’s wedding. Additionally, we were unable to fulfill our dream of traveling internationally and discovering the world.

But the worst part is the ever present fear that lingers in our minds. During every step of this immigration nightmare, we worry that we will soon need to find another country to move our lives to. Ky just barely secured the money to enroll in school for her second student visa (it was a miracle really). Only after desperation and begging did she find someone to hire her during her Optional Practical Training. Another miracle landed her a job which granted her a work visa (which she received just days before the H1 B cap was reached). We have managed averting deportation and self exile, but only barely; we have not managed to avoid the emotional toll this process has inflicted.

We realize we are the lucky ones, as far as same-sex binational couples go, and we feel fortunate. But we don’t want this struggle to define our entire lives, and we are tired of putting our lives on hold. We want equality so we can live free, breathe easy, and achieve our dreams.

Are you a same-sex binational couple? Do you have families / friends affected by this issue?
Please contact us at http://bit.ly/O4ICountMeIn if you are interested in sharing your story.  

Don't Just ASK for CHANGE - DEMAND IT!

ALERT: All same-sex binational couples and allies. We need you to take to your phones, email and social media accounts and make sure every Senator who is debating our inclusion in immigration reform be made aware that we are not asking them to consider including us. We are DEMANDING it.

Talking points:

•  Immigration reform is NOT comprehensive unless ALL families are included. That means LGBT families, specifically, same-sex binational couples.
• Including same-sex binationals in immigration reform IS NOT redefining marriage. Same-sex marriage is LEGAL in 12 states, the District of Columbia and 15 countries.
• Adding some 36,000 same-sex binationals to immigration reform WILL NOT kill the bill. What will kill this bill is hate and bigotry. 

Pick up your phones, fire up your email, stoke your social media and contact the following – not once, but as often as you can. If you are using Twitter, tag your tweets #binatlgbt

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Phone: 202-224-3841 (DC)
310-914-7300 (Los Angeles office)
415-393-0707 (San Francisco office)

Twitter: @SenFeinsetin

Additional phone numbers, email and snail mail contact: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/

 

Key message: Sen. Feinstein insists that she is a champion for gays and lesbians. To her credit she did not vote for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and supports the repeal of that law. However, she insists that same-sex binational couples be legally married before we can be included in immigration reform. Same-sex marriage, though, is currently AGAINST the law in Sen. Feinstein’s own state! Senator Feinstein has often linked her gay rights cred to being the one who found Harvey Milk’s body after he was assassinated at San Francisco City Hall in 1978. We ask the Senator, “What would Harvey do?” for same-sex binationals if he were still alive? We think he’d be taking a leadership position – and that’s what we want Senator Feinstein to do.

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Phone:  202-224-6542 (DC)
212-486-4430 (NY)
Twitter: @ChuckSchumer

Additional phone numbers, email and snail mail contact: http://www.schumer.senate.gov/

Key message: Sen. Schumer, another long-time champion for LGBT rights, is waffling on supporting our inclusion in immigration reform. In fact, he is so troubled about letting down his Republican cohorts in the Gang of 8, he claims to be LOSING SLEEP over his vote about whether or not to include us! Our message to him, via Twitter has been:  Losing sleep over gays in #CIR? @ChuckSchumer 40,000 same-sex binationals don't sleep well either. Vote yes on Leahy amendments. #binatLGBT

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Phone: 202-224-4242

Twitter: @SenatorLeahy

Additional phone numbers, email and snail mail contact: http://www.leahy.senate.gov/

Key message: Sen. Leahy has introduced two amendments to the immigration reform bill currently being debated. Amendments 6 and 7 call for including language from the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) and recognizing same-sex binational couples who are legally married for immigration purposes. We need all 10 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee to vote YES on these amendments. Thank Senator Leahy for including us. Encourage his colleagues to vote YES on the Leahy amendments – or YES on amendments 6 and 7 in CIR.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Phone: 202-224-2152

Twitter: @SenatorDurbin

Additional phone numbers, email and snail mail contact: http://www.durbin.senate.gov/public/

Key message: Sen. Durbin says he supports LGBT rights and marriage equality. If that’s the case, then voting YES on the Leahy amendments to include same-sex binationals in immigration reform should be a matter of course.

Other Democratic Senators on the Judiciary committee include:

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Twitter: @SenWhitehouse / Add’l contact info: http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/  

Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Twitter: @amyklobuchar / Add’l contact info: http://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/

Al Franken (D-MN) Twitter: @alfranken / Add’l contact info: http://www.franken.senate.gov/

Chris Coons (D-DE) Twitter: @SenCoonsOffice / Add’l contact info: http://www.coons.senate.gov/

Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Twitter: @SenBlumenthal  / Add’l contact info: https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/

Note: These five Senators all come from MARRIAGE EQUALITY states. They are representatives of thousands of married gay and lesbian couples, and of course, same-sex binational couples.

The final Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee is Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI). While she is not from a marriage equality state, she does support marriage equality. Twitter: @maziehirono / Add’l contact info:  http://www.hirono.senate.gov/

Key message to all of the above: Please vote YES on Senator Leahy’s amendments 6 and 7 to the immigration reform bill. Immigration reform is NOT comprehensive unless it includes ALL families. Same-sex binational couples NEED your support. 

And – if you are tweeting this, tag your tweets #binatlgbt

The Republicans – While we do not have much hope for getting YES votes out of any on the Judiciary committee, we are TIRED of their demeaning talk and their blustering that our inclusion will kill the bill. That is the message THEY are sending out to the American public and we NEED to turn it back on them.

Same-sex binationals WILL NOT kill immigration reform. Hate and bigotry will. 

And Senators Graham and Flake, two members of the Gang of 8 who are on the Judiciary committee need to hear from YOU.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Phone:  202-224-5972 (DC)
Twitter: @GrahamBlog

Additional phone numbers, email and snail mail contact: http://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/

Key message: Sen. Graham is the one leading the charge against us, saying that our inclusion in the bill will derail it. He accuses those who want to add same-sex binationals to the bill as “redefining marriage”. Funny, coming from a guy who has never been married! Be respectful, though. Tell Senator Graham to STOP redefining COMPREHENSIVE. STOP demeaning our families. DO the RIGHT thing and include ALL FAMILIES in immigration reform. And – as a long shot, remind him that we are talking about denying tax-paying AMERICAN CITIZENS the right to live in their own country.

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Phone: 202-224-4521 (DC)
602-840-1891 (AZ)
Twitter:  @JeffFlake

Additional phone numbers, email and snail mail contact: http://www.flake.senate.gov/public/

Key message: As a member of the Gang of 8, along with his cohort Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Flake has committed to keeping us OUT of immigration reform. Tell him his bill is NOT comprehensive if it does not include ALL families. Remind him that by not includeing same-sex binationals in immigration reform he is DENYING tax-paying AMERICAN CITIZENS the right to live in their own country.

Remember, you DO NOT have to live in these jurisdictions to contact these Senators. Although their staff may tell you differently, be POLITE, but FIRM. 

YOUR FAMILY hangs in the balance of the votes these lawmakers are about to cast. If you cannot get through on the PHONE or EMAIL, taking to Twitter or sending a letter via snail mail is just as good. In fact, in some cases it may turn out to be even more POWERFUL.

Thanks to our social media savvy volunteers who continue to post VITAL contact information. This document could not have been put together so quickly without your contributions.