VivirLatino

CIR ASAP is without a doubt one of the most progressive pieces of legislation we have seen, especially when it comes to comprehensive immigration reform. But progressive reform is not radical and in negotiations around policy it is often those that need the most help, some of the most marginalized in our communities, who get left out in the cold in the name of the greater good. Luis Gutierrez’s bill isn’t any different.

From the start, the language of the bill is grandiose, referring to the U.S.’s commitment to families and civil rights and yet the bill leaves out members of the immigrant community where I live, GLBT families.

From the bill:

Dividing American families is not a moral or just solution to the broken immigration system. We need policies that treat all families equally and keep them together, to support each other and build strong communities.

Unless you are a GLBT family? From the ACLU’s response to the Gutiettez’s bill:

…it fails to include immigration
parity provisions that would allow gay U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their permanent partners for permanent residency, an immigration right that heterosexual spouses have long enjoyed. Without these immigration parity protections, immigrant families in the U.S., including many with U.S. citizen children, will continue to be torn asunder.

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