Immigration Reform Bill Will Not Include LGBT Families

The initial text of the immigration reform bill will not include LGBT families, advocates told the Washington Blade today:

Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel Tiven on Monday said she does not expect same-sex couples will be included in the comprehensive immigration reform bill a bi-partisan group of senators could potentially introduce by the end of the week.

“We are not expecting LGBT families to be included in the Gang of 8 bill,” she told the Washington Blade during a conference call ahead of a rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform on Wednesday that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the U.S. Capitol. “That in our minds means that of course the bill is incomplete.”

Rep. Jarrold Nadler (D-NY) confirmed Tiven's remarks:

Nadler acknowledged to the Blade on Monday “it appears unlikely that the Senate’s initial immigration text” will include LGBT-specific language.

“This is disappointing but not particularly surprising,” he said.

Tiven said she remains hopeful members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will revisit the issue once they begin to debate the “Gang of 8” bill.

More at the Blade...

President Obama's immigration reform proposal, unveiled in January, had included LGBT familes. Advocates say they plan to fight for reinclusion through the amendment process.

Gay Immigration Bill to Be Introduced in U.S. House Tomorrow

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is set to reintroduce the Uniting American Families Act on Tuesday, the Washington Blade reports:

The legislation, known as the Uniting American Families Act, is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House but not the Senate, according to two sources familiar with the bill.

Although information on co-sponsors wasn’t immediately available, the bill is expected to have bipartisan support. Last year, the bill found support from Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) in the lame duck session of Congress in addition to the 145 Democrats who supported the bill.

Introduction of UAFA in the Senate isn’t expected to be concurrent with House version. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has pledged to reintroduce the legislation in that chamber. It’s unclear when the Senate companion of UAFA would be introduced.

The legislation would enable gay couples to sponsor their foreign partners for a green card. It's still unclear whether gay couples will be included in a comprehensive immigration reform bill, although President Obama has demanded it.

Congressman Nadler: GOP's 'English Only' Crusade Like Other Civil Rights Attacks

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing today on a GOP-led effort to make English the official national language, Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York likened the legislative crusade to other anti-civil rights efforts, including homophobic discrimination.

Nadler's remarks, via Talking Points Memo:

Having already spent an extraordinary amount of Committee time and resources in an effort to roll-back the civil rights of women, persons with disabilities, gay and lesbian Americans and other minorities, our Majority colleagues are now using the last day before the House adjourns until September to highlight a bill that would place at risk the 24.5 million people in the United States who need language assistance from their government in some situations.

A long-time equality advocate, Nadler is one of the over 80 Democrats who this week urged the Obama administration to spell out how binational same-sex couples will be protected under new, looser immigration enforcement laws.

Watch: Clips from Last Week's Offensive 'Defending Marriage' Hearing

Last week I said I would try to get some clips up of the offensive "Defending Marriage" hearing that was held before the House Judiciary Committee. With thanks to the Wonk Room, here they are.

Trent Franks (R-AZ) led the hearing, at which NOM's MAggie Gallagher and conservative attorney Ed Whelan spewed their anti-gay, and often plain wrong, statistics about marriage. Thankfully, Reps. John Conyers, and Jerrold Nadler were there to ad some sanity to the debate.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously...
Watch: GetEQUAL Confronts Maggie Gallagher Before 'Defending Marriage' Hearing [tr]

Video: Rep. Jerrold Nadler Reintroduces Uniting American Families Act to Secure LGBT Immigration Equality

Today outside the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D- NY) announced the reintroduction of the Uniting American Families Act, which would secure immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Said Nadler: "Today thousands of committed same-sex couples are needlessly suffering because of unequal treatment under our immigration laws, and this is an outrage...Our Constitution guarantees that no class of people will be singled out for differential treatment -- and LGBT Americans should not and must not be excluded from that guarantee. [The policy is] gratuitously cruel."

The bill was introduced with nearly 100 co-sponsors.

Senator Pat Leahy introduced the same bill in the Senate.

Watch Nadler introduce and explain the bill, AFTER THE JUMP...

Watch: House, Senate Dems Introduce Legislation to Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

This morning in the House, and this afternoon in the Senate, legislation was introduced that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Watch both press conferences, AFTER THE JUMP...

The WSJ:

On the House side, Reps. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) (at podium, below) and John Conyers (D., Mich.) teamed up with the four openly gay members of Congress, Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.), David Cicilline (D., R.I.), Barney Frank (D., Mass.) and Jared Polis (D., Colo.), plus more than 100 cosponsors on the legislation, which is slated for formal introduction Wednesday afternoon.

In the Senate, the DOMA repeal effort will be led by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) (above) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Some 20 other co-signers have signaled their support.

Recently President Obama concluded, upon consultation with Attorney General Eric Holder, that classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to heightened legal scrutiny and that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, is unconstitutional.  The Administration said that it would continue to enforce DOMA until it was repealed or overturned by the courts, but it would curtail defense of Section 3 of DOMA in legal challenges.

White House spokesman Shin Inouye released the following statement to Towleroad: “The President has long said that DOMA is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress.  We welcome the introduction of bills that would legislatively repeal DOMA, and look forward to working with lawmakers to achieve that goal.”

Watch both press conferences, AFTER THE JUMP...

Meanwhile, a House resolution with 81 Republican sponsors condemns Obama for his decision to stop defending DOMA in court.

Recent DOMA developments...
Poll Shows Americans Oppose DOMA, Government Defense of It [tr]
Boehner Announces House Will Defend DOMA in Court [tr]
DOMA: Defending the Indefensible [tr]
Immigration Equality Prepping Binational DOMA Case [tr]
DOMA: The Ripple Effects of Heightened Scrutiny [tr]