RIFA march on Washington includes queers, Chuck Schumer Approves

Gays march with Latinos?

RIFA - GLBT

Reform Immigration For America and Diversity

In traditional Latino culture being a “maricon”, “manflor” “marimacha” or the most commonly used name, joto, is a pretty rotten life condition. It is enough to warrant permanent exclusion in some families. Even if you are so afflicted, many Latinos won’t admit to it. What is it?

Homosexual.

If Latino culture rejects queers why is the gay, lesbian and transgender community, partly represented by the organization called Immigration Equality, showing up in force for the Reform Immigration For America (RIFA) march on Washington D.C. Sunday, March 21st, 2010?

 The answers are simple. First, not every immigrant is Hispanic. Representatives from many immigrant cultures will be at the march and will speak for their people. Second, there are a lot of gay immigrants, including Latinos, who would like their ‘other half’ to join them in the process of immigrating to the United States of America. At the very least, the GLBT community seeks fair treatment for people with diverse sexual orientation.

In the old days one of the first questions to be asked an immigrant in the process of naturalization was, “are you homosexual?” The “yes” answer was an immediate disqualifier and a bar to the land of the free and the home of the brave. Sadly, the question sometimes turned into an accusation against those the government did not want to migrate.

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Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, is pushing for the Uniting America’s Families Act  which would include GLBT persons in the CIR, Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill in front of Congress.

"The failure to recognize permanent partners in the application for legal permanent residency is a major concern for many Americans. I share this concern and am a cosponsor of the Uniting American Families Act of 2009, which would...permit permanent partners...to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents."

Recently, 60 members of Congress joined in support of inclusion of GLBT people in the immigration reform bill, inlcuding Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Jerrold Nadler of New York, Jared Polis of Colorado, Mike Honda of California, and Mike Quigley of Illinois.

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This is going to be an historic meeting of a diverse group of people, all who are in support of fair and just laws.  Prerna Lal, Robert Menendez, Eun Sook Lee (Wow!), Piolin Por La Manana = Eduardo Sotelo, and so many others are waiting for you!

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Modern times have changed the thinking of fair minded Americans. They have also changed the thinking of many fair minded Hispanics who have discovered a gay or lesbian member in their own family. Slowly, the seeds planted by the Bush administrations are finally sprouting and all can see them in their true light: They are weeds of hatred.

The GLBT community will march shoulder to shoulder with their immigrant brothers because they have something in common with people from another land. Members of the GLBT community understand the ugly stamp of oppression.

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"My son and his partner are a same-sex couple, which means that even though they have been together for 8 years, they have no relationship in the eyes of United States law. Because of that, our government has given my son a heartbreaking choice: to be with his partner, he has to give up his home, his job, his car, his mother, his sister, his grandmother, and move to another continent to start over with nothing." Janet Dagley, Mother

Sign the petition

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This is a nation of immigrants. Let’s welcome them all to this great land. Love your neighbor as your brother.  That is what this is all about. Yank out the weeds sprouting from unjust laws, root and branch! 

In a country in which most people have more than enough, let's make room for a few souls who will join us and help make us all better.  The U.S. is facing more enemies every day. Having another brother is a pretty cool thing!

March for Immigration America is Tomorrow

All fair minded people

Reform Immigration for Amercia and immigrant's rights advocates along with fair minded people will march on Washington DC tomorrow as citizens of the United States struggle with the dual problems of how to remain a secure nation while at the same time how to protect the principals of democracy and human rights this nation was founded upon.

For personal reasons, I will not be able to attend this historical event.  I strongly support those who fight for the rights of immigrants and undocumented workers.  I fondly remember my short trip on the Piolin Por La Manana Caravana to Washington D.C.  In the photo above, Eduardo Sotelo graciously posed next to me in Amarillo, Texas on his way to Washington.  While I ended up being 'el abogado expulsado' I wish the best for Eduardo and all those who seek fair immigration reform.  piolin por la manana, el ticket, el chapo, y el abogado falso

Reform Immigration for America, the organization supporting the March for America, is a united national effort that brings together individuals and grassroots organizations with the mission to build support for workable comprehensive immigration reform.

Most Americans have no idea how unjust our current immigration laws are, or why reform is critical. 

IMAGINE
Imagine the suffering a child goes through when his undocumented father is deported and his mother does not have the means to support the family.  Welfare and other programs to protect the poor are not available to undocumented immigrants.  

Imagine being diagnosed with breast cancer and not being able to receive treatment until you are on your death bed, as is the law in the State of Colorado.

Imagine being afraid of going to the grocery store for fear of arrest and ripping apart the family unit?

Imagine not getting paid by an employer who knowingly hires  the undocumented worker.  The employer also knows the struggling immigrant will walk away without a cent for fear reporting the employer will also cause deportation.

Imgaine being afraid of the knock on the door in the middle of the night.  

Imagine being a US Citizen child of an undocumented farm worker and not being able to obtain a college education.

The March for America organizers say, "Today we are at a pivotal moment in the history of this nation. We are faced with a choice. We can do nothing, and watch as our families and communities continue to be torn apart by the broken immigration system; watch as profiteers continue to take advantage of people desperate for work; watch as due process is taken away from our understanding of justice; and watch as our leaders work on economic solutions that simply aren’t bold enough to turn this country around. Or we can stand up for our families and our communities"

We are fortunate the immigration reform proposal on the legislative table in 2007 did not pass.  It was a manifestly unjust piece of legislation designed to give Democrats a victory for passing immigration reform while allowing Republicans to effectively gut all prospects for fair and just immigration to the US.  A lot of work has gone into the proposed bill in front of the Congress now, called the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, or CIR.

A section by section look at the law can be found at the Amercian Immigration Lawyers Association Website and CIR.

There is an all-star line up planned for the march.  Of course, there will be leading politicians, including congresswoman Judy Chu and Senator Robert Menendez who, remarkably, is the only Latino member of the U.S. Senate.

There will also be other heavy hitters. 

Gustavo Torres from CASA de Maryland, which provides a wide range of direct service programs to the Montgomery County of Maryland including employment placement, vocational training, financial literacy, and citizenship classes.

Gustavo led the organization in demonstrations calling for comprehensive immigration reform during the one year anniversary of the President taking office.

Chung-Wha Hong, formerly the executive director of NAKASEC, has led the New York Immigration Coalition. In 2007, she not only turned out 300,000 people at immigration rallies in New York, but also won $700 million in state funds for local schools to help immigrant students who don’t speak English.

Eun Sook Lee

Eun Sook Lee, the executive director of NAKASEC (National Korean American Service & Education Consortium), which seeks to project a national progressive voice on critical civil rights issues and promote the full participation of Korean Americans.

Eun Sook was born in Hwasoon, South Korea and immigrated to Canada at a young age. She later immigrated to the United States in 1994. Recently, Lee spearheaded the Korean American and national AAPI community in fighting for coverage of immigrants in health care reform and comprehensive immigration reform.

^^^^ Senator Robert Menendez^^^^

If we are to remain a free nation we must learn how to treat all persons within our borders fairly.  Democratic ideals require that all people be treated equally, and not as 'those here legally and those who are not'. 

The destruction of civil rights since 911 has been unprecedented.  It is time we stand up for the rights of those who cannot stand up for themselves.  I will be praying for all of you who attend the Reform Immigration For America March on Washington, and for Senator Robert Menendez, Eun Sook Lee, Gustavo Torres, Congresswoman Judy Chu, and of course, my old friend Eduardo Sotelo, who is also known as Piolin Por La manana.



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Comprehensive immigration reform can only be passed with your help!