VIDEO: MoveOn Video Encourages Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The video, which features Amos Lim, Out4Immigration's Director of Community Outreach, also notes that there are flaws with the bill as written, namely the plan to exclude LGBT families.

Vote4Amos: Amos Lim, Co-Founder of Out4Immigration for SFPride 2013 Community Grand Marshall

by Kathy Drasky

It is with great enthusiasm I urge everyone reading this to vote for Amos Lim, Out4Immigration's fearless co-founder and stalwart leader for SFPride 2013 Community Grand Marshall. Click here to cast your vote.

You do not have to live in San Francisco, and you can vote for Amos plus two others to share this distinction - so, go ahead and click now and vote!

To those of you who have worked with Out4Immigration over the years, since we started up in 2006, Amos needs no introduction. He is the force behind this group that has taken us from the dark days, when even our own LGBT community knew very little about same-sex binationals, and propelled us onto the national stage.

Along the way, Amos has been one of the keys to building the bridge that now spans between comprehensive immigration reform and marriage equality. In this historic month, as Congress debates the inclusion of same-sex binationals in immigration reform and the Supreme Court of the United States hears the marriage equality cases, Amos' contribution rings loud and clear.

Those of us who volunteer alongside Amos know him as our champion. He motivates us when things seem bleak and supports us as a friend, understanding first-hand the daily struggles same-sex binationals face in coping with life under unjust immigration laws.

Your vote must be cast by the end of March, so please, click here now and give Amos and Out4Immigration your support. 

Amos' official bio for SFPride 2013 Community Grand Marshall, is reprinted below. Please feel free to share this post!

Amos Lim immigrated from Singapore to the United States in 1999 to be with his husband, Mickey. But this move was not simple. Amos and Mickey encountered first hand the discrimination faced by same-sex binational couples under current US immigration law, that was compounded by DOMA. The struggle to stay in America, and have his marriage recognized, led Amos to activism, first co-founding Out4Immigration  and then becoming a proponent of marriage equality.

As the Community Outreach Director for the all-volunteer grassroots group, Out4Immigration, Amos has worked both locally and nationally to raise the profile of same-sex binational couples, leading workshops, speaking to the media and teaching other couples to advocate for change to U.S. immigration law and meet with their Congressional representatives to ask for support of the Uniting American Families Act and Reuniting Families Act. Amos was an early supporter of full federal marriage rights, and forged strong alliances for same-sex binational couples with Marriage Equality USA and GetEQUAL.

Amos has been instrumental in raising awareness about the unique struggles same-sex binational couples face and bringing that into the larger immigration dialog. In 2007, he organized San Francisco’s Immigrant Rights Summit where LGBT immigration issues were discussed for the first time. He has also been part of the San Francisco City ID Card committee. Amos currently sits on the LGBT Advisory Committee of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and the City College of San Francisco's Bond Oversight Committee.

Amos has an extensive professional background in the corporate sector, with experiences in project management, community organizing, business development and human resources. He currently lives in San Francisco with his husband Mickey and their adorable 5-year-old daughter.

  

More info: Vote4Amos.com or vote for Amos here. 

Not Our Usual Holiday Message...

This is our holiday newsletter that we sent out earlier this month. In case you missed it, or need an easy way to share this message, we've re-posted it here. 

A number of actions have occurred this year to give us extra hope this holiday season...

Just last week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear two cases challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). It is Section 3 of DOMA, the clause that bans the US federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, that has blocked same-sex binationals from equal immigration rights - even as more states, cities and jurisdictions recognize our marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships. (Out4Immigration Prepares for SCOTUS Review of DOMA Cases)

Until this part of DOMA is struck down, the Obama Administration takes action to hold green card petitions filed by same-sex binationals "in abeyance" until DOMA's constitutionality can be decided, and/or Congress includes the language in the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in any Comprehensive Immigration Reform bills they will vote on - we must continue our fight and our push across all three branches of government.

The good news? We are so many steps closer to achieving recognition of our relationships and immigration rights at the federal level than we were this time last year.

The plan for 2013? We must continue to tell our stories to get the attention of the media and "the court of public opinion" that will ultimately sway all who have a hand in changing the course of history to make the right decisions for equality and justice for all.

Tell your story. Tammy and Sally did.

And so have dozens of other couples in the past month.

It's easy. Just complete this form.

We've been working with our friends at GetEQUAL to post at least two stories a week to our blogs and social networks.

When you see these stories in your newsfeeds, we ask that you please share them with your family, friends and colleagues.

As Amos Lim, our Community Outreach Director, said in our most recent press release.

"There is unbelievable power in these personal stories. So many people are unaware of the struggles same-sex binationals face. When they hear that DOMA and US immigration laws have forced people to choose between their spouse and their country, they stand up and say, ‘This is wrong. This is not American.’ And then, we hope, they will call or write Congress to demand change."

Tell your story. Charles and Mauricio did. 

Each of our stories are compelling and unique.

Take a few minutes now. Complete this form.

Help us present a picture to the American public, our judiciary, our legislators and our President that they cannot ignore. Join us in presenting our stories so that no one will ever force an American citizen to choose between their country and their spouse ever again.

To all of our members, our allies, our volunteers, we want to say thank you for the work you have done all year long to make the future look brighter than ever. We hope that by this time next year, everyone will be home for the holidays - those in exile, those living apart. Wherever you may be right now, we wish you a safe and healthy holiday season and we look forward to progress in equality in 2013. 

If you can, please make a donation to Out4Immigration through our  fiscal sponsor, Peace Development Fund.

Report on NQAPIA Conference and Briefing on AAPI Issues at the White House

by Amos Lim

I had the honor of representing Out4Immigration in attending the NQAPIA Annual Conference at Arlington, VA from July 19 – July 22.  The trip was partially financed from a grant from ARCUS Foundation. 

As part of the conference, the attendees were invited to a briefing on AAPI Issues at the White House. One of the issues that were to be discussed was LGBT Immigration. Felicia Esobar, Senior Policy Director for Immigration, attended the briefing.

While I did not get to ask my questions during the briefing (there were about 75 people in attendance), I did manage to hand a packet of materials and information for Ms Escobar about Out4Immigration and same-sex binational couples.  Included in the packet was a request for the Obama Administration to issue a Memorandum/Order similar to the one issued to the DREAM Act students that would, at the very least, hold green card applications in abeyance until the constitutionality of DOMA can be decided by the Supreme Court. (Click here to see the contents of the packet delivered to the White House.)

I want to thank all of those who contributed donations in time and money to help me prepare our message to the White House and to get me to Washington  for the WH meeting/briefing and conference.

I also want to thank my husband, Mickey Lim and my precious 4-year-old daughter for their support in allowing me to travel to from San Francisco to Washington, and most important, our angels at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and specifically Shannon Minter for putting me up at a hotel for the extra night needed when the White House opportunity came up. 

One of the most important things I learned from this trip to the White House as well as the conference itself is that there is power in telling your stories.  You might sometimes feel alone in this struggle, you might feel invisible in this struggle and you might feel that all is lost for your partner and you… but I can assure you that it is NOT!

Here’s some of the things that you can do:

• Use our blog to tell your stories.
• Submit a photo to the United by Love, Divided by Law Tumblr blog.  We have created a poster board with some of the pictures posted and they have been shown at Pride events in San Francisco and Sacramento as well as at the NQAPIA Conference.
• Make an appointment to meet with your Congressional representative! They will be back in their home districts in August while Congress is in recess so this is a great time to meet them and tell your story!

It has really been very empowering to bring your stories to the world, whether it is publishing them on our blog, or showing your photos to the world on our United by Love Divided by Law Tumblr blog, or sharing stories from the book, “Torn Apart”, or from the documentary film, “Entry Denied”.  Every story told is important because it sheds a light on the discriminatory impact laws like DOMA have on same-sex binational couples, and the more people find out about us, the more sympathetic they become to our issue and the word spreads about the need for change.

At Out4Immigration, we hope that you know that you are not alone in this struggle and that relief will come. It might not be as fast as we want it to be but if we all keep telling our stories, keep pushing, refusing to be ignored, it will happen!

I long for the day when all my brothers and sisters can be together in this country (or any country of their choice!) without fear! I long for the day when there is no need for an all-volunteer organization like Out4Immigration to exist anymore.

It can happen, but it won't happen without every single one of you getting involved.

Contact us at info@out4immigration.org for more information on what you can do to help.

Help Out4Immigration Go to the White House

Out4Immigration has just been offered a great opportunity for Amos Lim,, our community outreach manager, to attend a meeting at the White House next week. Amos will already in the DC area for the NQAPIA Conference, for which we received grant money to cover.

However, to attend the White House meeting in tandem with the conference, Amos will have to re-arrange his flights and accommodation, incurring some extra costs that aren't part of O4I's tiny budget.

Can you help us raise an extra $500 over the weekend so Amos can represent O4I at the White House?

Many of you know the hard work Amos has done on a volunteer basis as one of the co-founders of O4I, our treasurer and community outreach manager. He is a true leader who best represents our cause at every opportunity.

Let's get Amos to the White House in his O4I shirt, with our materials and our message!

To donate, click on this link: http://www.out4immigration.org/immigration/donate.html and follow the instructions.

Any donation toward this cause will help. And, if you'd like be an Out4Immigration volunteer and attend conferences, contact your representatives in Congress, help us with petitions and getting our message out online and in print, email us at info@out4immigration.org today.

New American Media Op-Ed: Don’t Leave LGBT Families Out of Immigration Reform

Amos Lim was given an opportunity to respond to the recent media coverage about how including LGBT Families might jeopardise the entire immigration reform by Sandip Roy and New American Media. The op-ed can be read in full here.

Hope you would comment and rate the story! We need the help of the progressive community to continue working and exerting pressure to make sure that we will not be taken out!

Not many people realize that within the United States there are approximately 36,000 couples who are struggling to be together because they are binational same-sex couples. The Uniting American Families Act would allow U.S. citizens or permanent residents to sponsor their partners to become permanent residents.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., recently held a press conference with more than 40 advocacy groups to urge congress to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) this year by ensuring that it gets included in comprehensive immigration reform.

Here in the state of California, our state legislature voted overwhelmingly in a bipartisan way a few weeks ago for AJR15 -- a joint resolution that makes California the first state to support the passage of UAFA and its inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform. (read the entire article here)

If you have not heard the radio interview on KALW where Sandip Roy spoke with Amos Lim, Judy Rickard and Joe Smith about LGBT Immigration, you can listen to them here.

Text of Amos Lim's Speech at San Francisco Immigrant Rights Rally, San Francisco

March 24, 2010

My name is Amos and I am from Out4Immigration.

US Immigration laws are primarily based on the fundamental principle of family reunification. Family is also one of the most fundamental pillars of American society. However, we all know that the immigration system is broken, bogged down with bureaucratic delays and in need of much reform.

A lot of you are separated from your spouse, children, sisters and brothers for years, even decades - I am here to tell you, this is happening to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender families too. And I stand here in solidarity with all of you.

While some of you can see a light at the end of the tunnel due to the family reunification principles - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender families, like my family can't.

That is because Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

Because of that law, same sex binational couples are treated as legal strangers even though we might be legally married or civil unionized or domestic partnership-ed. In fact, if the INS finds out about the relationship, the foreign partner might be classified as an overstay risk and be denied entry into this country.

My husband is an air force veteran and now works as a pharmacist in an independent pharmacy in the Mission. His primary expertise is in HIV patient care and his patients love him. However, even though we have been together for 14 years, are legally married in the state of California and have adopted a beautiful daughter, in the eyes of the federal government, we are legal strangers. He, the American citizen, has no right to sponsor me for a green card.

I consider myself one of the lucky few that have secured a green card through my employment, but not everyone is that lucky. That is one of the reasons why Out4Immigration exists - we are a group of same-sex binational couples struggling to stay together, forced to choose between love and country.

According to estimates from the 2000 census, more than 36,000 same-sex binational couples currently living in the United States are affected by this issue. There are also thousands more that have been forced to leave this country to live in exile in one of the 19 countries that recognizes our relationships for immigration purposes. It is time for this country to recognize our relationships, my relationship, and stop separating us from our partners.

The Uniting American Families Act will change this. The bill, if passed, will simply add 3 words "or permanent partners" after the word "spouse" in the Immigration Nationalization Act. These three simple words would stop immigration discrimination against same-sex binational couples. It would allow the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender American citizen the right to sponsor his or her foreign partner.

I am speaking in support of an INCLUSIVE Comprehensive Immigration Reform that includes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Families. By including the language of the Uniting American Families Act, Comprehensive Immigration Reform WILL truly be comprehensive and inclusive so that finally an LGBT American can sponsor their partner for a green card and be able to stay together.

We need your help to make sure that any Comprehensive Immigration Reform that is introduced will include MY family, OUR families, ALL families. And we should work to ensure that no group (not MY family, not YOUR family) gets left out of immigration reform so that Comprehensive Immigration Reform is truly comprehensive and inclusive.

Thank You.