Gay activists fight for immigrant rights

News 2006-04-08 Gay activists fight for immigrant rights Marching for immigrants As Congress debates sweeping new legislation on immigration reform, gay

As the U.S. Senate adjourned Friday for a two-week break without passing final legislation on immigration reform, gay and lesbian immigrants and their supporters were planning rallies and actions to raise awareness about the specific struggles they face.

Many are taking part in a planned "day for immigrant justice" on April 10 and a national immigrant strike on May 1. "We are calling on LGBTQ immigrants and supporters to march together in a contingent," said Leslie Bulbuk, cofounder of the pro-gay immigration group Love Sees No Borders. "The anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant rhetoric dehumanizes people. LGBTQ immigrants are dehumanized not once, but twice."

To show their opposition to congressional immigration proposals, Bulbuk was organizing a gay contingent for a planned immigrant rights march in San Jose, Calif., as part of the April 10 event.

The gay rights group Immigration Equality also has been chiming in on the congressional efforts to stem illegal immigration. "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender immigrants and their families are uniquely vulnerable," said executive director Rachel B. Tiven. "Detaining more immigrants, with less judicial review, will put the lives of innocent people at risk."

The group recently joined a new coalition of 18 state and national gay rights groups and community centers in calling for fair and equal treatment of gay and lesbian immigrants by Congress. "We all agree that our current immigration system needs reform and share the concerns about safety and security, but we believe reform can be accomplished best through the vision articulated by Cesar Chavez," a coalition statement read, "a vision of a nation and a world where the values of liberty, dignity, fairness, and justice occupy center stage; where persecution, oppression, and discrimination are not political tools that are proudly claimed, but instead, are moral wrongs to be made right." (The Advocate)

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