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Originally posted on Citizen Orange.
At long last, Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is set to introduce his version of comprehensive immigration reform, tomorrow. The last time I wrote about Rep. Gutierrez introducing this bill, I chided him for failing to co-sponsor the DREAM Act. The fact that Gutierrez wanted to include the DREAM Act in his bill, but failed to co-sponsor it before, is just one of many ways the voices of migrant youth are stifled, used, and taken for granted in the U.S. immigration debate. I commend Rep. Gutierrez for finally showing migrant youth the respect we deserve by co-sponsoring the DREAM Act.
Holdouts from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) that continue to disrespect migrant youth by refusing to co-sponsor the DREAM Act are: John T. Salazar (D-CO), Joe Baca (D-CA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Albio Sirez (D-NJ), and perhaps most embarrassing CHC Chairwoman Nydia Velasquez (D-NY). Fortunately, holdouts are now in the minority on the CHC, but that is no excuse, especially for Chairwoman Velasquez. No longer will pro-migrant politicians be allowed to take migrant youth for granted. The very least we expect of any pro-migrant politician is co-sponsorship of the DREAM Act, and I’m happy that Rep. Gutierrez complied with this.
Still, I’m afraid the other concern I raised in my original post regarding Rep. Gutierrez version of comprehensive immigration reform has not yet been addressed, and it will not be addressed. Rep. Gutierrez traveled around the country on a United Families tour. He was and continues to be courageous hammering home how families are torn apart by the U.S.’s broken immigration system, one of the greatest moral travesties of our time.
Still, it is important for that we include everyone in our definition of family, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families. As the law stands now, LGBT U.S. residents are unable to bring the people they love into the country if they so desire. It forces LGBT couples into the impossible situation of having to choose between the love of their country, and the love of their significant other.
I’m not sure whether or not Rep. Gutierrez is going to include the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would remedy this situation, in his version of comprehensive immigration reform. Failing to do so would fly in the face of his commitment to submit a "progressive" and "compassionate" bill. It would also lower my hopes for a truly pro-migrant comprehensive bill to pass.
That is why I’ve started a twitter petition asking Rep. Gutierrez to include LGBT families in his immigration reform bill. I encourage as many people as possible to sign it. Below is the text of the petition:
Representative Luis Gutierrez is set to introduce his version of comprehensive immigration reform on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009, which he has said will be "progressive" and "compassionate."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-luis-gutierrez/comprehensive-immigration_b_391372.htmlRep. Gutierrez has been an important voice for immigration reform, traveling the country to bring attention to the way the U.S. immigration system has torn apart thousands upon thousands of families. However, it remains to be seen whether or not he will include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in his immigration reform bill.
Heterosexual couples are allowed to bring their significant others into the U.S., and the same should be true for LGBT couples. Ask, Rep. Gutierrez to be truly progressive and compassionate. Ask Rep. Gutierrez to include the United American Families Act in his version of comprehensive immigration reform!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniting_American_Families_ActKyle de Beausset – act.ly (14 December 2009)
13 Comments
When legal immagrants stand up for the illegal immigrants they are trying to thwart our laws, and should be considered criminals in their own right.
I have listened to Gutierrez many times, and it is a true shame this guy was ever elected to Congress.
Under our constitution, advocating changing the laws is protected, and cannot be criminalized. Also, many immigrants are American citizens, and so the laws are just as much theirs as yours. (Also, you are advocating something that is illegal – thankfully for you, that is protected by the First Amendment.)
Many immigrants know this, as they have a passing familiarity with the Constitution.
You should try to keep up: http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution
We are about to enter the new year and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL.) has offered an amendment that would tighten up some of the citizenship verification loopholes in the Senate health care reform bill (H.R.3590). Jeff Sessions’ amendment would establish citizenship identification standards for the DHS Secretary, maintain the current 5-year waiting period for new legal immigrants and requires a status check using the SAVE PC application. This includes E-Verify, federal illegal immigrant job elimination program that’s source is the universal internet. Radical organizations have tried to displace it, which was driven by the US.Chamber of Commerce, American Civil Liberties Union, large congregational religion, workers unions, subversive ethnic groups and treasonous lawmakers like Louis Gutteriez (D-IL), Sen. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi–but thats just skimming the surface of political pawns. CALL YOUR SENATORS AND EVEN CONGRESSMEN/ WOMEN. NOW and urge them to support this amendment. The Capitol Switchboard’s telephone number is 202-224-3121.
Sen. Sessions’ amendment would establish citizenship verification standards for the DHS Secretary, maintain the current 5-year waiting period for new legal immigrants and requires a status check using the SAVE system. The above phone number plus a 28cent postcard invasion of the Senate-House, could stop the out of control rush towards a Comprehensive Immigration Reform disaster. This is another name for BLANKET AMNESTY, of which (CIR) will legalize and reward all those who broke our Sovereign laws. Immigrants who waited patiently in line to be processed, have been shown that its a lot quicker to break the law and not be apprehended for their violation. The fact is millions and millions of indigent people will rush the border fence, to be counted when President Obama pushes through another AMNESTY.
Nobody in power seems to notice or cares that the 1986 law, turned into a absolute travesty. Newly legalized farmworkers deserted their jobs, looking for greener pastures in every state, causing unfair competition for lowly skilled citizens and legal residents. This time it could even be worse for the legal population, as millions of legitimized labor will undercut US workers. GOOD FOR LARGE AND SMALL BUSINESSES–NOT GOOD AT ALL FOR THE POPULACE WITH FAMILY COMMITMENTS? In November, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.4 million, with the prior 3 months indicating payroll losses averaging 135, 000 a month. We must all adjoin with friends, family members and co-workers to immediately halt any new immigration reform package. It will hurt us all–and tell future illegal immigrants and those already here, we do not in anyway condone illegal entry through airports as a student or tourist, or through either border.
But what about the way the U.S. immigration system has torn apart thousands upon thousands of families?
Rep. Gutierrez has been an important voice for immigration reform, traveling the country to bring attention to the way the U.S. immigration system has torn apart thousands upon thousands of families.
There’s just got to be a way that Holy Joe can step in and fuck this thing up…Now that his work on HCR is done…
I don’t understand how that can work if LGBT couples have no way of proving their marriage or civil partner status legally. Are you saying that the law should only cover LGBT couples who can prove their marriage/relationship legally or any couple who simply claim an LGBT relationship? I wonder how many states in Latin America, not to mention the rest of the world, even recognize gay relationships in some legal sense.
My friend is living in England right now because her partner cannot stay in the country longer than six months. In states like California, registering as domestic partnerships is a way to make the relationship legal if a couple can’t get married there. But there are six states and hopefully soon D.C. that are allowing marriage now. It is a patchwork of laws that mean there is no equal application of laws throughout the country.
Also, let me point out that the computer system for all components of immigration are a mess. Once again they cannot talk to each other, can’t track the employment records, can’t really track citizenship applications very well at all. So for those of you thinking they are capable of walking and chewing gum, the reality is much different.
Last time they said they needed the computers to work better or get a new system, they jacked the price of citizenship applications by over $200. So people going through this process had to pay for the government’s lack of planning and abilities to coordinate departments.
I immigrated legally and became a citizen of the United States.
I got the hell out because the place is overrun by illegals
and you cannot get a job anywhere unless you’re a Latino,
legal or not…OK, it’s entertaining to watch Cubans, Porto
Ricans, Salvarorans and Mexicans at each others’ throats,
but you gotta make a living!
The ship of state of America will only be righted when you
imitate Canada and keep the DP(displaced persons)as
servants of the Natives!!!
Wasn’t Rep. G’s Uncle implicated/working/arrested for reportedly being involved in an ‘business’ on the near SW side of Chicago that was a front for the sale/manufacture of illegal/fake driver’s licenses?
Though I’m sure his uncle was released through the efforts of Rep. G.
I have had to take MUCH less pay to do the Landscape/Arborist work that I was trained for and had accumulated years of good, hard HONEST work. I blame the businesses that hire illegal immigrants and the BENEFIT they collected and brought to the BANK because of paying what amounts to slave wages. It’s wrong, as is the lack of Government enforcement of existing policies. I an NOT against immigration, and I can relate to the why’s and family/poverty issues that drive it.
But Rep. G. is a political hack from the Chicago machine and has benefited for it. I don’t trust his inner, hidden from view motives. He is a politician that has benefited from illegal immigration – if it’s illegal, it’s wrong. Yes, many deserve to be here but the WHOLE system has been allowed to break-down while many benefited. He’s the LAST person that I’ll trust to bring some semblance to this tremendously tangled issue.
Hot Damn, I love these ‘discussions’ on immigration.
Here in my Sonoran Desert, I usually find that most folks don’t know diddily squat about immigration. So, permit me to posit one definitive point relative to Truth.
My extensive experience has been that most undocumented immigrants are “shamed” for having to come to the USA in search a chunk of meat and one small potato to put on the table in order to feed a family.
Simply put, the government in their nation of origin has failed to deliver the “goods and services” despite their having paid the requisite taxes and consistently done over many years. And as an aside, this same undocumented immigrant also paid for the food, shelter, medical care and educational opportunities for our littlest citizens, and whom have been been born here in the USA, and after having been repatriated to their parent’ nation of origin. And yet, you won’t hear of any complaint from a undocumented immigrant for having shelled out their hard-earned monies that enabled our littlest citizens to enjoy a miniscule Democracy and in a small manner. And one of our former littlest citizens now sits in Mexico’s federal legislature, and he will be one of the decision-makers on where America goes on immigration reform.
And yet, climate change is going to have a tremendous impact, especially in Peru, given that in the next 20 years or so, and which means that survival, migration, and even war will occur, and which will have a considerable impact here in the USA.
But when it comes to the use of a tad of intellectual vigor on issues of public policy, immigration seems to descend into the political gutter. And of course, we all know why.
Jaango
Sorry. The first priority of congress should be universal healthcare for citizens. But, they’re bought and paid for shills for the insurance industry, big pharma and anything else that can be called a corporation. Now, being the self serving bunch they are, they realize they have to replace the votes they’ll lose by shafting us … where to find them? Hell yeah…the illegals. Make them citizens and the Dems are home free for 20 years.
A big ugly fight is happening over 9/11 and censoring between the forces of darkness and light at,
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/144537
I am posting it here because I want my friends here to be aware of the very serious problems we are addressing there. The fight against 9/11 truth is being carried out by the same people depriving you of your rights.
We have to understand the big picture and how we all interact together, then the wrong acts they do will be exposed and prevented. Or that was my little girl scouty plan, they are meaner than I thought they would be.
I keep hearing how families are being “torn apart by the U.S.’s broken immigration system in one of the great moral travesties of our time,” but there’s something I don’t get about it. Nobody ever explains why the kids can’t just go home with their parents! I suspect they actually can, but that this doesn’t work with the US-is-evil narrative the activists are pushing, so we never hear about it. So, somebody tell me, are we as a people actually “tearing these families apart,” or are they actually choosing to be torn apart because they don’t want to take their kids home with them?