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Worlds Apart: Binational Couples Torn Apart by Discriminatory Immigration Laws |
by Shannon Mintner, NCLR
Same-sex couples have made enormous strides toward equality in the realm of domestic partnerships and the newly won "civil unions" in Vermont. But those gains come up brutally short when one partner is a non-citizen. Binational lesbian and gay couples do not have the same basic right to live together in this country as do heterosexual couples. When a heterosexual person marries someone from another country, the Immigration and Naturalization Service automatically grants permanent residence to the foreign spouse. In stark contrast, lesbian and gay Americans are prevented from sponsoring their foreign partners for immigration into the United States under any circumstances -- no matter how long the couple has been together or how dedicated their relationship, and even if they are raising children or own a home together.
Worldwide, at least 13 countries have adopted humanitarian policies permitting their citizens to sponsor same-sex partners for immigration, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Israel has also granted legal residence to the foreign partners of two gay Israelis and is expected to formalize that practice soon. In the U.S., however, thousands of same-sex couples are forced either to live apart or to live in constant fear of deportation. In some cases, couples who have been together as long as 20 or more years have been forced to choose between permanent separation or permanent exile to another country when the foreign partner's legal options for remaining in the U.S. run out.
The "Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2000," introduced in February by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would change all that. The bill, HR 3650, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act so that U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can sponsor their "permanent partners" for residence the same way that heterosexual married couples can. Nadler said he agreed to sponsor the bill after meeting lesbian and gay couples with immigration problems and realizing that "these are people like any other pair of lovers, who are deeply in love and want to spend their lives together, and they're kept apart. It's simply cruel; it's inhumane, there's no reason for it. Frankly, it's hard to see anybody of good will who would say we should keep partners like that apart."
One positive aspect of the proposed law is that it doesn't depend on state or federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Instead, the bill defines "permanent partners" as individuals older than 18 who are involved in a committed relationship that is intended to be lifelong and are not legally eligible to marry. They must also be financially interdependent.
Of course, while the legislation itself is very simple, enacting it into law will be quite difficult in the current Republican-controlled Congress, which has shown no signs of willingness to allow the passage of any gay-friendly legislation. This is, after all, essentially the same Congress that passed the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which declared that for federal purposes, including immigration, marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman. Thus, even if Vermont or Hawaii or another state were to someday grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples, the INS would not recognize those marriages under current federal law.
Of the 48 representatives who have agreed to co-sponsor the Nadler bill, none are Republican. In recent months, both President Clinton and Vice President Gore have made public statements expressing sympathy for the plight of binational lesbian and gay couples. In January Gore promised that, if elected, he will appoint a commission to investigate the impact of the current law on the GLBT community.
Meanwhile, there are thousands of binational same-sex couples in the U.S. for whom even the simple privilege of planning a future together is on indefinite hold.
More information about binational couples and the Nadler bill can be found on the Web page of the the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force (LGIRTF) at www.lgirtf.org
Shannon Minter is Senior Staff Attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
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