We live in a time of increasing intersectionality in our nation. Intersections of class, color, sexual orientation, faith, socioeconomic status, immigration status and gender identity occur at every level and in every aspect of our society. In moments large and small, we are collectively and constantly stitching together the tapestry of our nation’s evolution.
I think for most people, however, it’s easy to view all of these different identities as independent of each other. Today my local congresswoman of the 27th Congressional District of Florida, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who is an avid supporter of the Queer and Trans community, pledged her support for the proposed Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, commonly known as “H.R. 15.” H.R 15 is a comprehensive immigration reform bill that fixes many of the worst parts of the United States' broken immigration system. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen took a brave step forward in bridging the divide between identities and equality.
I am a native of Puerto Rico, a Queer man, and a U.S. citizen -- though I did not come to the continental United States until I was eighteen. I am still afforded the luxury that comes with the privileges of having been born an American citizen. I am guaranteed basic human rights delineated by our founding fathers, as a matter of right, preserved indefinitely for all Americans in the Constitution that defines our democracy. My liberty is among those fundamental rights and I cannot be denied it without due process of law.
This story is very different for the 267,000 undocumented immigrants residing in the United States who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or queer (LGBTQ). The United States immigration system offers no protections and frequently little more than a series of persecutions arising from their LGBTQ status.
Our county is in desperate need of reforms to our immigration system; reforms, that would not only protect the few but the many that most need it. Among other things, H.R. 15 mandates long needed reform of the immigrant detention system, including restrictions on the use of solitary confinement. It also ends the arbitrary one-year deadline for asylum seekers that bars an immigrant from seeking asylum more than one year after entering the U.S., regardless of how meritorious the immigrant’s asylum claim may be.
Many LGBTQ people enter the U.S. specifically because they are fleeing persecution in their home countries that arise from their LGBTQ status. Once in the U.S., they face daunting challenges that typically include simply finding a place to sleep and food.
If we end the one-year deadline for submitting an asylum application, it will help LGBTQ people seeking asylum find a welcoming environment where they can not only be themselves but live a life free of persecution. Instead of needlessly deporting people back to places where they will face continued persecution -- often condoned by the laws of those countries -- the U.S. will be doing what it has always done, providing safe haven for those in harms way who have come here seeking our protection. We come to the U.S. hoping to share in something we like to call the American Dream -- though, truth be told, I’d say it is the dream of human beings everywhere.
I think we need to find our way back to that dream and remember that we did not invent it and that we do not own it. However we can, as we have from time to time, defend it and help others share in it. We forget too quickly that here in America the “dream” was for white, male landowners. Over time, and usually only after great internal upheaval, we have recognized that it is necessary to include others in sharing that dream.
I sit here with my thoughts on the action that will take place Oct. 29th in Orlando… How I’m willing to be arrested to drive home the point that I stand by millions of people not as an undocumented or document person. Often times most people sit on the sidelines of society accepting the injustices that happen to others in exchange for the convenience of their own live. We can no longer accept this as a social norm!
Today -- now -- we are at another of critical junctures when we must widen our minds and hearts and embrace a broader vision of America. That vision must include all the immigrants -- LGBTQ among them -- who have and continue to contribute to our society every day in such extraordinarily varied and interwoven ways. Passing comprehensive immigration reform will not be easy. In truth it may come with political costs for those brave enough to make it happen. However painful, it is not only necessary, it is right! Just as this nation has grown and flourished each and every time we have helped others share in the dream, so too each and all of us will benefit and grow from helping our undocumented immigrant brothers and sisters live the dream with us.
Gaby Garcia-Vera, GetEQUAL Florida State Lead
I think for most people, however, it’s easy to view all of these different identities as independent of each other. Today my local congresswoman of the 27th Congressional District of Florida, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who is an avid supporter of the Queer and Trans community, pledged her support for the proposed Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, commonly known as “H.R. 15.” H.R 15 is a comprehensive immigration reform bill that fixes many of the worst parts of the United States' broken immigration system. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen took a brave step forward in bridging the divide between identities and equality.
I am a native of Puerto Rico, a Queer man, and a U.S. citizen -- though I did not come to the continental United States until I was eighteen. I am still afforded the luxury that comes with the privileges of having been born an American citizen. I am guaranteed basic human rights delineated by our founding fathers, as a matter of right, preserved indefinitely for all Americans in the Constitution that defines our democracy. My liberty is among those fundamental rights and I cannot be denied it without due process of law.
This story is very different for the 267,000 undocumented immigrants residing in the United States who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or queer (LGBTQ). The United States immigration system offers no protections and frequently little more than a series of persecutions arising from their LGBTQ status.
Our county is in desperate need of reforms to our immigration system; reforms, that would not only protect the few but the many that most need it. Among other things, H.R. 15 mandates long needed reform of the immigrant detention system, including restrictions on the use of solitary confinement. It also ends the arbitrary one-year deadline for asylum seekers that bars an immigrant from seeking asylum more than one year after entering the U.S., regardless of how meritorious the immigrant’s asylum claim may be.
Many LGBTQ people enter the U.S. specifically because they are fleeing persecution in their home countries that arise from their LGBTQ status. Once in the U.S., they face daunting challenges that typically include simply finding a place to sleep and food.
If we end the one-year deadline for submitting an asylum application, it will help LGBTQ people seeking asylum find a welcoming environment where they can not only be themselves but live a life free of persecution. Instead of needlessly deporting people back to places where they will face continued persecution -- often condoned by the laws of those countries -- the U.S. will be doing what it has always done, providing safe haven for those in harms way who have come here seeking our protection. We come to the U.S. hoping to share in something we like to call the American Dream -- though, truth be told, I’d say it is the dream of human beings everywhere.
I think we need to find our way back to that dream and remember that we did not invent it and that we do not own it. However we can, as we have from time to time, defend it and help others share in it. We forget too quickly that here in America the “dream” was for white, male landowners. Over time, and usually only after great internal upheaval, we have recognized that it is necessary to include others in sharing that dream.
I sit here with my thoughts on the action that will take place Oct. 29th in Orlando… How I’m willing to be arrested to drive home the point that I stand by millions of people not as an undocumented or document person. Often times most people sit on the sidelines of society accepting the injustices that happen to others in exchange for the convenience of their own live. We can no longer accept this as a social norm!
Today -- now -- we are at another of critical junctures when we must widen our minds and hearts and embrace a broader vision of America. That vision must include all the immigrants -- LGBTQ among them -- who have and continue to contribute to our society every day in such extraordinarily varied and interwoven ways. Passing comprehensive immigration reform will not be easy. In truth it may come with political costs for those brave enough to make it happen. However painful, it is not only necessary, it is right! Just as this nation has grown and flourished each and every time we have helped others share in the dream, so too each and all of us will benefit and grow from helping our undocumented immigrant brothers and sisters live the dream with us.
Gaby Garcia-Vera, GetEQUAL Florida State Lead
