Out4Immigration Volunteer Visits Washington, DC

by Erik Schnabel

I have been involved in Out4Immigration as a volunteer grassroots organizer for much of the last year. My motivation is to help change the current situation that my partner and I find ourselves in because of the unfair immigration system that currently exists. If we were in a heterosexual relationship our immigration issues would be easily solved by getting married and having our relationship federally recognized. But because our immigration system is broken, we remain "legal strangers" in the eyes of the US government. I volunteer with Out4Immigration to see if we can pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), either as a stand alone bill or as part of the current efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill. This legislation would give me and my partner the same rights as an opposite-sex binational couple.

Several months ago, I heard about local efforts in San Francisco to bring together a coalition of immigrant rights groups to work for CIR. I began to attend meetings of the San Francisco Bay Area for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (SFBCIR), a group of immigrant rights advocates representing many diverse communities. While the organizations that made up the coalition were very supportive and open to Out4Immigration being involved, many were not aware of the issues of LGBT immigrants and same-sex binational couples. After several weeks of attending and helping to educate the groups about UAFA and what we were working on, they began to embrace our issues as well. Since then they have come around to supporting passage of UAFA and making sure that it is included in CIR, and helping to make sure it is discussed in every action we are involved in.

I was excited when SFBCIR asked O4I to participate in a national lobbying day in DC through the national efforts of Reform Immigration for America (RIFA), a nationwide effort to pass immigration reform. Through the work of RIFA, an effort was made to bring 1,100 (representing the number of people deported every day) civic leaders to DC push for immigration reform. This national effort called Relief, Reform, and Respect was an effort to make national congressional leaders understand the true human impact of our broken immigration system, and to call for a stop to the racist scapegoating that has gone on for too long, while pushing for immediate action.

Yet while the local coalition has embraced the issues of LGBT immigrants, I found a much harder sell with the national groups. Because national groups are desperately trying to bring in moderates and faith leaders, including the US Catholic Conference of Bishops and national evangelical leaders who have said they will not support a CIR bill that is inclusive of LGBT families, I quickly found that we could not publicly as a group push for the passage of UAFA. But we didn’t give up easily, and I quickly got reassurance for the local leaders that they would help to push UAFA where they could. All of the organizations expressed their personal support for including LGBT families, and many have individually endorsed these efforts. They have however found themselves constrained because of keeping together the larger coalition that is needed to push obstructionist Republican maneuvers on immigration reform.

I knew going to DC would be hard because of the difficult questions that would have to be raised and the frustration of trying to push legislation that not everyone agrees with. But I knew there we enough people committed to work on this that any efforts would be productive. Along the way, I was able to connect with Immigration Equality, who expressed interest in getting involved with efforts as well and who helped us strategize and to work on our efforts. In addition, we gained more allies along the way because of the participation of San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who is an openly gay Latino man who came to the US as an undocumented immigrant and who has become a strong spokesperson for the rights of LGBT people and immigrants. We also had the support of an Episcopal priest who is himself in a binational relationship. Our testimonies and persistence were so powerful that we kept finding strong supporters and unlikely allies.

With RIFA leading the movement for CIR right now we have had some issues about pushing UAFA and inclusive CIR as part of their work. But it was really great being there and talking with national leaders of RIFA about the importance of including UAFA as part of inclusive CIR. I came bearing letters for all the Board members of RIFA coalition about this, and received good responses from many. Many RIFA organizations have endorsed UAFA and inclusive CIR but not all. And I did get commitments from many RIFA Board members to make sure to help push UAFA resolutions and try to get more commitments on this.

I'm feeling really hopeful and it would be great if more people want to help push these organizations to embrace UAFA. If you want to help me do this, you can send me an email at erikschnabel@hotmail.com.

(To read more about Erik's visit to DC - including his encounter with one of our strongest allies in the Senate, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), please click here.)

Press Release: Out4Immigration Steps Up Activism for March 21 Immigrant Rights March in Washington, DC

Grassroots Group Organizes Local Actions and Resolutions in New York, San Francisco, St. Louis, Seattle for LGBT Immigrant Rights and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — March 19, 2010 — A national immigrant rights march this Sunday, March 21 in Washington DC organized by Reform Immigration for America (RIFA) will have a large contingent of same-sex binational couples carrying signs calling for passage of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). They will also be demanding that Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) includes these couples – in which one partner is an American citizen and the other is from another country – and their families. According to a Human Rights Watch report, there are an estimated 36,000 same-sex binational couples currently affected.

Several members from Out4Immigration, an all-volunteer, grassroots group with members all over the world will have a presence at the Washington march, but many of the group’s members have faced insurmountable hurdles in getting to the nation’s capital. As a result, the group has turned to more local actions to continue raising awareness about the need to fix a broken immigration system that blatantly discriminates against American gays and lesbians with foreign partners.

“It’s not easy when you and your family are shut out of equal rights at the federal level to legally stay in this country,” said Mickey Lim, Vice President of Out4Immigration.

“Many of our members have been forced into the exile. The only way they could stay together was to move to another country that would recognize their relationship. When this happens usually both partners are forced to give up careers and start over. A lot of our other members are separated from their partners. All their income goes to the few times a year they can actually be together. And, the so-called lucky binational couples that have found a way to stay together in America – they have often spent thousands on legal fees for work and student visas.”

In New York City, Out4Immigration member Todd Fernandez, who is also a human rights attorney, has been urging LGBT immigrant rights supporters to get on a bus leaving from Queens to head to the DC march on Sunday morning. At press time there may still be a few seats left. Contact Todd at CequalsIIR@gmail.com for details.

In San Francisco, Out4Immigration member Erik Schnabel has organized for the group to join local immigrant rights activists just back from the DC march on Wednesday, March 24. Participants are encouraged to meet at 4 pm at Justin Herman Plaza by the BART station for a march to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office at One Post Street for a rally scheduled to start at 5:00. Those interested in attending can contact Erik at erikschnabel@hotmail.com.

Another Out4Immigration member, Tom Tierney works with Fernandez and others on getting cities to pass resolutions calling for support of UAFA and LGBT immigrant rights. Within the past week, two more major US cities – St. Louis and Seattle – have joined San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and West Hollywood – in passing a resolution calling for civil rights for the LGBT community; particularly pertaining to immigration issues and reform.

“It’s about building a coalition from the ground up,” says Tierney, who also spearheads Out4Immigration’s weekly letter writing campaign to Congress at Change.org, which leads the national effort to gain more co-sponsors for the UAFA (H.R. 1024, S. 424). The legislation calls for the addition of three simple words to US immigration law “or permanent partner” wherever the word “spouse” appears. This would “fix” the part of the broken immigration system that affects same-sex binational couples.

The letter writing campaign has been especially effective – there are now 121 UAFA co-sponsors, more than any other immigration bill. Last week, Rep. Rick Larsen [D-WA-2], added his name to the growing list of representatives eager to end immigration discrimination.

“It’s easy to get involved in the letter writing campaign or to get your city or state to sponsor a resolution from wherever you are,” says Tierney. “Just visit the Out4Immigration website and get started.”

Media Contacts:
Amos Lim, Out4Immigration, 347-OUT-4IMM, Amos@out4immigration.org
Kathy Drasky, Out4Immigration, 415-606-2085, Kathy@out4immigration.org

Local Actions in San Francisco for Out4Immigration to Support the Drive for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Erik Schnabel has taken the lead to help us organize local actions for Out4Immigration members that could not make the trip to DC for the Immigration Rights March on March 21st.

We will be joining a whole coalition of immigrant organizations and their members to rally for an Inclusive Comprehensive Immigration Reform! Here's the email he sent to our members.

Dear Fellow Out4Immigration folks,

I wanted to let people know that there are some upcoming local actions that it would be great to get more Out4Immigration people to come out for. I have been connecting with local organizers on beHalf of Out4Immigration for the March 21st Reform for Immigration America group and to make sure that LGBT issues are on the agenda. As part of the drive to get people out for the nationwide March 21st march in Washington DC, there are a number of local actions in the San Francisco Bay Area that we would really like to get people out for.

1. One is a day of constant contact with CA senators Feinstein and Boxer. Various immigrant rights groups will be going to the Senators offices letting them know that immigration reform is important and that it needs to happen soon. It is not a formal sit-down meeting with the staff, but rather a drop-in to their office to let them know immigration is an important issues and why. We can totally use this time to bring up UAFA and other LGBT-inclusive steps that need to be included to make Comprehensive Immigration Reform also inclusive to LGBT issues. I would like to encourage other people to show up and join me on Wednesday. Out4Immigration has a time spot reserved at Sen. Boxer's office for 11am and at Sen. Feinstein's office at 11:30am. Please contact me at erikschnabel@hotmail for more info and to sign up to help out.
   
   
2. As a local response to the March 21 RIFA event in DC, there will also be a local event when people return from DC. Again this will be a rally in front of Sen. Feinstein's office, on March 24th from 4-6pm. Organizations and individuals will gather at Justin Herman plaza at 4pm by the BART station. From there they will proceed up Market St. and stop at Sen. Feinstein's office at One Post Street at 4:30pm. The rally in front of the Senator's office will start at 5pm. Various local politicians and activists are expected to be there to say why Immigration reform is important now. Another good chance to get out the word on LGBT inclusion in CIR. Feel free to contact me again at erikschnabel@hotmail.com if you have questions or to get a flyer with more details sent to you.

Hope to see you all there,
Erik Schnabel

More Info on the March 21 Call to Action for LGBT Immigration Reform -- in DC and around the World

Thanks to all of you who have expressed interest and those of you who have already committed to being in DC on March 21 -- or organizing your own action in tandem with the Reform Immigration for America (RIFA) movement.

We need each of you who have said you are interested in organizing a local action to:

1) Use the O4I Yahoo Groups forum as well as our O4I Facebook page to recruit other O4I members in your area. Coordinate and form a team!
2) Use grassroots activism tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogging and old-fashioned community bulletin boards to recruit others in your area -- your friends, your colleagues -- both individuals and those from other organizations. Think LGBT community center, PFLAG, religious groups and other immigrant rights groups. In particular, keep up with RIFA (the organizers of the DC event to see if they are planning any local actions you can join in. There is strength in numbers.
4) Choose a location for your rally.

For those of you going to DC -- please use the O4I Yahoo Groups list forum to connect with others and arrange meetups, transportation, lodging, etc. The events of March 21 are very large and widespread and we need everyone who is reading this post to stand up in some way -- large or small, national or local.

Out4Immigration will use its online forums and social networking capabilities to keep the word spreading and to hook up as many of you with one another as we can.

Closer to the date, when we have more firm commitments of who will be rallying and where, we will provide a list of targeted press instructions.

So, please -- work together folks and make your voices heard for March 21.

Call to Action: March 21, Stand Up Around the World and Demand Immigration Reform for Same-Sex Binational Couples

A grassroots action is forming on the back of a major Reform Immigration in America (RIFA) taking place in Washington DC on March 21.

Many Out4Immigration members expressed interest in trying to get to DC for this march, but for many of us this is logistically and financially impossible.

That's why we are asking for volunteers around the world to stand up and form local coalitions of people who support equal immigration rights for same-sex binational couples, and on March 21, take your group to a local landmark, local LGBT center or local RIFA event -- and ask your local press to meet you there.

Wear your O4I t-shirt, make signs, bring friends, family and coworkers. Bring a camera and take a picture. (We know some of you cannot be open about your situations -- but that's no reason to sit this out. Disguises and masks or turning your back to the camera are okay -- in fact, this often underscores the need to fix our broken immigration system!)

We will post photos here and on our website, and we will also ask you to send copies to major mainstream and LGBT press around the country with a copy of a press release immediately following this action. We hope there will be dozens of simultaneous actions like this happening at 1 pm Eastern time on Sunday, March 21.

We will provide talking points so that you can tell those you meet how they can help reform immigration in America and garner support for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

Please watch this space for more details as they form, or join our Yahoo Groups list serve via our website (scroll to the bottom of our homepage and click on the Yahoo icon). You can also email Kathy at kathy@out4immigration.org for more info or to propose your idea for organizing on March 21.

And -- if you can make it to DC on the 21st, Immigration Equality is organizing a contingent and we urge you to meet up with them. To find our more about IE's actions in DC on March 21, click here.