Immigration Equality
Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force/LA
c/o L.A Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center/Legal Services Department
1625 North Schrader Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028-9998
(new vox) 213-526-2915 (fax) 213-993-7699 (email) LGIRTF@abacus.oxy.edu
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/immigration/lgirtfla.html
April 1996 Newsletter
APRIL MEETING SET FOR TUESDAY APRIL 9 7PM in NEW ROOM
The next regularly-scheduled monthly meeting of Immigration Equality will be Tuesday, April 9 at 7pm at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center (1625 North Schrader Boulevard in Hollywood, two blocks west of
Cahuenga Boulevard and one-half block south of Holywood Boulevard.)
We will be meeting in a new room. The Immigration Law Project has made
Room 204 (on the second floor) in the library of the legal services
department available for our monthly meetings.
GOOD NEWS ABOUT ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILLS IN CONGRESS
There are two anti-immigrant ``immigration reform'' bills moving through
Congress, one in the House and one in
the Senate.
Recently, legislative action has resulted in a slightly more positive attitude t
owards immigration issues.
On March 21 the House voted (by a wide margin) to REMOVE provisions from
Lamar Smith's HR 2202
which would have drastically reduced legal immigration levels.
Unfortunately, the measures which would allow schools to deny education to
undocumented immigrant children as well as a 60-day deadline on asylum
applications are still in the House bill.
In the Senate, a bill sponsored by
Alan Simpson of Wyoming would
reduce the total number of immigrants by up to one-third.
However, recently an amendment to maintain relatively current levels of legal
immigration, sponsored by Ted Kennedy
of Massachusetts and Spencer Abraham of
Michigan, was APRROVED in a Senate subcommittee. Thanks to grassroots
lobbying,
California's U.S. Senator DIANNE FEINSTEIN reversed her previous anti-immigrant
position and voted for the Kennedy-Abraham amendment.
The full Senate is scheduled to debate the full Immigration Bill in the third
week of April. Read your newspaper for details and contact your senators to
make your opinions on immigration reform known.
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
11111 Santa Monica Blvd, #915
Los Angeles, CA 90025
phone: 310-914-7300, fax: 202-228-3954
email: senator@feinstein.senate.gov
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
2250 East Imperial Highway, Suite 545
El Segundo, CA 90245
phone: 310-414-5700, fax: 310-414-0988
email: senator@boxer.senate.gov
IMMIGRATION EQUALITY TO ADDRESS Laguna Outreach Wednesday April 10
On Wednesday April 10 from 7pm to 9pm LGIRTF members Ron Buckmire and Lionel Cantu will be speaking to Laguna
Outreach, a popular gay and lesbian social
organization based in Orange County. There will be a screening of ``Love
Knows No Borders'' and a question and answer session on the connection between
immigration and marriage and gays and lesbians. The event will occur at the
Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach.
LGIRTF MEMBER MEETS INS COMMISSIONER DORIS MEISSNER
On Tuesday, April 3 LGIRTF member Jeff Kim was among a group of people meeting
with the head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Doris Meissner.
Jeff was able to get a verbal commitment from the Commissioner that health
facilities are not targets of INS raids. This whole issue came up in response
to a January 31 INS raid of a Los Angeles County-run mobile HIV/STD clinic at
which dozens of undocumented immigrants were arrested. If you experience or
know of any who has experienced problems in this area contact Jeff Kim at the
Immigration Law Project, at 213-993-7677.
On Wednesday April 24 from 6pm to 8pm LGIRTF members Ron Buckmire and Jeff
Kim will be speaking to MAHU, an Asian-Pacific Islander queer student group
at UCLA. The title of the presentation is
``Aliens: Close Encounters of the Queer Kind -- Immigration policy and gays and
lesbians.'' There will be a screening of the film ``Love Knows No Borders''
and a discussion/reception afterwards, in Room 1102 of Perloff Hall.
IMMIGRATION INTERNET ORGANIZING CONTINUES
Immigration Equality continues to use the Internet to further its organizing
efforts. Immigration Equality has its own web page which is part of a larger
site devoted to Queer Immigration, featuring information from Canada, Australia,
the United Kingdom and other LGIRTF chapters in the USA. The site is at
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/immigration
In addition, a mailing list devoted to discussion of issues of immigration and
sexual orientation exists, called QI (Queer Immigration). To subscribe to the
list, email qi-request@abacus.oxy.edu with the one-line message SUBSCRIBE QI
You can also contact Immigration Equality at LGIRTF@abacus.oxy.edu.
WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU
In order to reduce our costs of sending these newsletters we need to hear
from people who want to continue receiving them. Please CALL US at 213-526-2915
and leave your name and phone number to let us know you want to remain on our
mailing list. Thanks!
seeks to end discrimination in immigration against lesbians and gay men through
education, outreach, advocacy, and a nationwide resource and support network.
- To advocate equal immigration rights for lesbian and gay people
- To support marriage as a vehicle for lesbian and gay immigration
- To build an immigration legal resource and social support network for the
lesbian and gay community.
- To empower lesbian and gay people with knowledge of immigration rights