Immigration Equality
Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force/LA
c/o L.A Gay and Lesbian 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 1997
FOOLISH NEW IMMIGRATION LAW WENT INTO EFFECT APRIL 1
On April 1, 1997 the new "Immigration Reform" law (IIRA-IRA) passed by the Republican-led 104th Congress and signed into law by President Clinton went into effect. The details of all the changes are too numerous (and awful) to mention here.
Please see the enclosed fact sheet for more details and consult the websites we recommend.
NEXT MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING SET FOR TUESDAY APRIL 8 at 7PM
The next membershipmeeting of Immigration Equality will be, as usual,
on the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm.
This month that is Tuesday, April 8 at 7pm at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian
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 Room 204 (on the second floor) in the library of the
legal services department.
HAWAII NEWS: 'CON CON' CANCELLED and APRIL 11 DEADLINE APROACHING
As more time passes it becomes clear that the only way to stop same-sex marriage from becoming a reality in Hawaii is to amend the state constitution.
Recently the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that there will NOT be a regularly scheduled Constitutional Convention in 1998 becuase last year's ballot measure did not get more YES votes than NO and BLANK votes combined.
On the legislative front, April 11 is the deadline by which a constitutional amendment must pass the Hawaii State Legislature for the question to be submitted to Hawaii voters at the November 1998 election.
FILING DEADLINE FOR ASYLUM POSTPONED TO APRIL 1 1998
One important change in the law due to the new immigration law is that all applications for political asylum must be filed within one year of arrival in the United States. However, people who have been in the United States for more than one year must file their political asylum claims by April 1 1998. For more information, contact Sydney Levy at the Asylum Project of IGLHRC, at 415.255.8680 or asylum@iglhrc.org.
MANY IMMIGRATION RESOURCES AVAILABLE ON THE WEB
The Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force, our parent organization, has a new web site at http://www.lgirtf.org/
The International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission which has an Asylum Project, is at http://www.iglhrc.org/
The American Immigration Lawyers Association has a very useful website at http://www.aila.org/
Also, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has a website at http://www.usdoj.gov/ins
There is also a website devoted to Queer Immigration issues at
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/immigration/