The Senate Judiciary
Committee next Wednesday will hold the first congressional
hearings on the Uniting American Families Act, a bill that
would allow lesbian and gay citizens to sponsor their partners
for residency in the United States.
The Senate Judiciary
Committee next Wednesday will hold the first congressional
hearings on the Uniting American Families Act, a bill that
would allow lesbian and gay citizens to sponsor their partners
for residency in the United States.
"The hearings are
really tremendous and an indication of the momentum and
traction that the issue has on the Hill," said Rachel B.
Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality,
"particularly in the context of everything else they have
on their plate right now." President Barack Obama's
nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme
Court has dominated headlines all week since his
Tuesday announcement.
The witness list for
the hearing has not yet been finalized by Vermont
senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the committee and is the lead
sponsor of the bill, but Tiven expected about three to four
binational couples who either have been separated or face
separation would testify. She hopes the hearings will bring to
light "the horrible choice" that an estimated 36,000
Americans have to make between the partner they love and their
country.
Comprehensive
immigration reform has become one of President Obama's
legislative priorities this year, and Tiven was optimistic that
the UAFA would be a part of the larger immigration debate.
The White House has
also signaled support for including gay and lesbian couples in
the reforms.
"The president
thinks Americans with partners from other countries should not
be faced with a painful choice between staying with their
partner or staying in their country. We will work closely with
Congress to craft comprehensive immigration reform
legislation," White House spokesman Shin Inouye told
Bay Windows
in March.
UAFA has been
introduced in four successive Congressional sessions and is one
piece of pro-LGBT legislation that does not appear to
have any socially conservative detractors, according to Tiven.
During last session the bill had 199 sponsors in the
House and 19 in the Senate.
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