This week, Immigration Equality launched a campaign that they call the biggest in it’s history: congress is to “convene the first-ever hearings on binational couples.” On June 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a proposal, called the Reuniting American Families Act, that denotes ending discrimination against binational couples, allowing Americans to sponsor their same-gender partners for US residency.
At the hearing, a Pacifica woman, Shirley Tan, testified to her threat of deportation and being separated from her partner of 23 years, Jay Mercado, and their two children. Tan originally fled the Philippines and applied for political asylum in 1995, after being physically attacked by a man who had killed her mother and sister.
Mercado is a naturalized citizen, but due to the Defense of Marriage Act, Mercado is not able to sponsor Tan in the United States. Fortunately, California senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer were able to to delay her deportation by two weeks while her case was reviewed.
In this case the deportation was blocked, but according to a 2000 survey by Immigration Equality, about 37,000 same-gender couples face this threat every day.
The Reuniting American Families Act is currently co-sponsored by 21 Senators and has 105 co-sponsors in the House.
If you’re local, call Udall and Bennet to get them on this issue.
