Uniting American Families Act
UAFA was
introduced under a different name in 2000 and in
2003. No one talked about it much and it was lost
in committee. In 2005 UAFA was introduced
concurrently in the House and the Senate, where
it gained a lot of cosponsors, but again was lost
in committee. On May 8, 2007, Uniting American
Families Act was introduced to the 4th Congress
in 8 years. Just like In the previous 3
congresses it was swept under the table and was
ultimately lost in committee and never came
anywhere close to a vote. Now, after nearly 10
years, in the 111th Congress on February 12,
2009, Uniting American Families Act was
introduced again and has gained rapid amounts of
support. But, the same thing is going to happen
again with UAFA in this congress and the Obama
administration, unless we get everyone's help
with putting pressure on our leadership in
Washington and telling everyone we know about the
problems that face us. We've been waiting too
long. Yet, still, the majority of Americans and
LGBT community will never be affected by any of
this, for those of us that are---the pain and
suffering is real and has continued for entirely
too long.
UPDATE: A New Day Has Come
Finally, for
the first time ever, Uniting American Families
Act will have it's day before the Senate on June
3, 2009.
Uniting American Families Act will help
loving same-sex couples keep their families
together without living in fear of harassment or
deportation
UAFA would allow same-sex couples
to sponsor their “permanent partners” for legal
residency in the United States. This right is
currently afforded to opposite-sex couples under
U.S. immigration law and the same scrutiny would
apply to limit potential fraud. Immigration
equality should be afforded to all Americans, but
because the U.S. does not legally recognize
same-sex couples and their children as families,
many same-sex bi-national couples are torn apart
when one partner lives in the United States.
“UAFA is a matter of basic fairness and
compassion,” Congressman Nadler said. “Our
immigration code recognizes that it’s excessively
cruel to keep couples and families apart, and the
Uniting American Families Act would simply extend
that recognition to same-sex couples.”
We are American and Immigration Equality Is
Our Right
Imagine living in a country that
forced you into exile just because you choose to
remain with the love of your life. Imagine having
to go underground in order to escape your
government's attempt to separate your family, or
imagine living in a country where you constantly
feared having your lives torn apart and not being
able to plan a future together. The American
government and many Americans are labeling our
families as irrelevant. And when you choose to do
nothing, you are among them.
Try to imagine what it would feel like to have to
cross the border into your home country (the
U.S.) separately than your spouse and having to
lie to border patrol about your married status,
because if they suspected that you're married,
you're partner could be deported and you left
waiting alone on the other side, not knowing what
happened, or where you would go next. They are
not required to tell you anything, because your
relationship is invalid to them. Imagine it, but,
don't imagine too hard--because that country is
our America and for some of us, it is a scary,
and psychologically abusive place to be.
