The United States Student Association and college students
across the country are calling their legislators today to garner
support for a bill that would make immigration easier for the
same-sex partners of U.S. citizens.
The Permanent Partners Immigration Act would allow U.S. citizens
and lawful permanent residents who are in a permanent same-sex
partnership to sponsor their partners for immigration purposes.
UCLA is a member campus of USSA and helps fund the organization
through a portion of its student fees.
Currently, there is no legal recognition for same-sex couples
under immigration law, and many couples are separated when one
partner moves to the United States.
The legislation has been co-sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler,
D-N.Y., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Nadler said in a statement, “My bill only demands that
those people in same-sex partnerships receive equal treatment to
those who can get legally married.”
Nadler first introduced the bill in 2000 and has reintroduced it
several times since then, sometimes timing it with
Valentine’s Day.
The bill has drawn fire from conservative groups who say it
would chip away at the institution of marriage.
“Homosexual activists are nibbling around the edges,
trying to validate their version of marriage without confronting
the public head-on,” said Robert Knight of the Culture and
Family Institute to the Associated Press on Nov. 23, 2003.
The PPIA would add the term “or permanent partner”
to sections of the Immigration and Naturalization Act that apply to
legally married couples.
The bill would also apply the same restrictions and enforcement
standards to same-sex couples as those in legal marriages,
including being subject to up to five years in prison or a $250,000
fine for contracting a fraudulent marriage license.
The bill also requires bi-national couples to provide proof they
meet the definition of “permanent partners.”
“In addition to PPIA’s positive effects for college
students in bi-national same-sex relationships, PPIA would improve
the quality of education for all U.S. college students by allowing
more college faculty and staff to remain in the U.S. with their
partners,” USSA President Rebecca Wasserman said in a
statement.
Nicholas Sakurai, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Student Empowerment Project at USSA Foundation, said
the act would allow international students to obtain visas
regardless of same-sex partnership.
Currently, more than a dozen other countries allow the
sponsoring of a same-sex partner for immigration.
Matt Kaczmarek, external vice president of the Undergraduate
Students Association Council, said the PPIA is just one part of a
strategy to make it easier for students regardless of race, sexual
orientation or other factors, to access higher education.
He added that if the law were enacted, it would make higher
education institutions more accessible to students wishing to study
abroad and to bring a partner.
Kian Boloori, chair of the UCLA Queer Alliance, said, “The
queer alliance is definitely for the PPIA. “¦ Immigration is
another field that shows the discrepancy between what married
couples get and what same sex-couples are afforded. “¦ This
act is a step toward equality for same-sex couples.”
Other supporters of the legislation include the National Gay and
Lesbian Taskforce as well as the American Civil Liberties
Union.
With reports from Bruin Wire services.