Congress to Hold Hearings on the Uniting American Families Act

by Michael Jones · 2009-05-28 10:14:00 UTC
Topics:

U.S. Passport

This news is huge for LGBT advocates working on the issue of immigration.  The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA for short) was introduced earlier this year in Congress by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (in the U.S. House) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (in the U.S. Senate).  The UAFA will eliminate discrimination in U.S. immigration laws by permitting same-sex partners of U.S. citizens to obtain permanent resident status.  Kind of like how straight people who marry someone from outside the country can obtain legal resident status for their partner.

According to the Washington Blade, Congress will start hearings on the UAFA next week, in which LGBT advocates will surely see as a chance to revise U.S. immigration policy with an eye toward equality.  Here's the scoop from the Blade:

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on a proposal to change U.S. immigration policy so that gay Americans can sponsor their same-sex partners for residency...

Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for Immigration Equality, said the committee's witness list would be posted later this week. He expected witnesses to include "couples separated, and facing separation, because of discriminatory immigration policies, as well as immigration law experts and civil rights leaders."

You can urge Congress to help pass the Uniting American Families Act by signing our petition here on change.org.  Together, we can help make U.S. immigration laws a little more just for LGBT couples.

For more information on LGBT immigration issues, check out Immigration Equality.  We ran five questions with their executive director earlier this year, and they offer a wealth of information on everything from the UAFA, to immigration issues facing transgender individuals, and more.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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