Uniting American Families Act

Uniting American Families Act
Legislation history
Bill citation	H.R. 1537 S. 821
Bill published on	April 14, 2011
Introduced by	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

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The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA, H.R. 1537, S. 821) is a U.S. bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents and to penalize immigration fraud in connection with permanent partnerships. Section 18 of the bill would be amended to include permanent partnerships as an illegal way to evade any provision of the immigration law and allow for the individual to be imprisoned for no more than five years, fined for up to $250,000 or both. Also, if the partnership ends within two years the sponsored partner’s legal immigrant status would come under review.

UAFA was most recently introduced during the 112th Congress, to the United States House of Representatives on April 14, 2011, by New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).

In the 111th and 112th Congress, the full text of UAFA, further expanded to provide rights to the children or stepchildren of the foreign-born partner, has been included as Title II of the Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 1796), an immigration reform bill, last introduced in the United States House of Representatives on May 6, 2011, by California Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA).

UAFA was most recently introduced in the United States Senate on April 14, 2011, by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). There are currently 23 cosponsors of this bill in the United States Senate. After the bill was introduced, it was read twice and sent to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where it still currently resides.

There are an estimated 36,000 same-sex binational couples in 2000, according to the Census, who could benefit from this act. There is very little bipartisan support for this bill as most of the cosponsors are Democrats.

Definitions of Permanent Partner and Permanent Partnership

UAFA defines Permanent Partner and Permanent Partnership as follows:

The term "permanent partner" means an individual 18 years of age or older who--

(A) is in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 years of age or older in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment;

(B) is financially interdependent with that other individual;

(C) is not married to or in a permanent partnership with anyone other than that other individual;

(D) is unable to contract with that other individual a marriage cognizable under this Act; and

(E) is not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of that other individual.

The term "permanent partnership" means the relationship that exists between two permanent partners.

Legislative history

Congress	Short title	Bill number(s)	Date introduced	Sponsor	# of cosponsors (excluding sponsor)	Latest status
112th Congress	Uniting American Families Act of 2011	H.R. 1537	April 14, 2011	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	130	Referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
		S. 821	April 14, 2011	Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	23	Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
	Reuniting Families Act (Title II: Uniting American Families Act)	H.R. 1796	May 6, 2011	Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA)	78	Referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
111th Congress	Uniting American Families Act of 2009	H.R. 1024	February 12, 2009	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	135	Died in House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
		S. 424	February 12, 2009	Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	25	Died in Senate Judiciary Committee
	Reuniting Families Act (Title II: Uniting American Families Act)	H.R. 2709	June 4, 2009	Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA)	81	Died in House Judiciary Committee
110th Congress	Uniting American Families Act of 2007	H.R. 2221	May 8, 2007	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	118	Died in House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
		S. 1328	May 8, 2007	Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	18	Died in Senate Judiciary Committee
109th Congress	Permanent Partners Immigration Act Uniting American Families Act	H.R. 3006	June 21, 2005	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	115	Died in House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims
		S. 1278	June 21, 2005	Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	13	Died in Senate Judiciary Committee
108th Congress	Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2003	H.R. 832	February 13, 2003	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	129	Died in House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims
		S. 1510	July 31, 2003	Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	12	Died in Senate Judiciary Committee
107th Congress	Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2001	H.R. 690	February 14, 2001	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	106	Died in House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims
106th Congress	Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2000	H.R. 3650	February 14, 2000	Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)	59	Died in House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims

In the House of Representatives the bill was referred to the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. This subcommittee has sixteen members including the Chairman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and ranking member Representative Steve King (R-IA). The subcommittee consists of representatives from the states of California, Texas, Illinois, Utah, Iowa, Mississippi, New York and Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D) from Puerto Rico. The subcommittee has six Republicans and ten Democrats on board.

In the Senate the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary which consists of nineteen members which includes Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who re-introduced the bill and Ranking Member Senator Jefferson Sessions (R-AL). The committee consists of seven Republican Senators and twelve Democratic Senators. The Representatives on the committee come from seventeen different states; this differs vastly from the subcommittee to which the House of Representatives bill has been referred to. Senator Patrick Leahy held a hearing on the bill on June 3, 2009. The hearing was the first-ever hearing on the Uniting American Families Act. In the opinion of the national organization, Immigration Equality, the hearing was a fundamental and important first step for bringing UAFA into comprehensive immigration reform.

On December 15, 2009, Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) introduced his comprehensive immigration reform bill, H.R. 4321, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP Act). Initially, it did not include UAFA, which upset many gay rights activists. However, on July 15, 2010, Congressman Gutiérrez announced, "provisions of UAFA must be part of any comprehensive immigration reform bill." Senator Charles Schumer wrote a letter to his LGBT constituency in March 2010 indicating that he is currently working with colleagues of both parties to work on comprehensive immigration reform. This comprehensive immigration reform, which in Senator Schumer’s mind is more effective than “piecemeal legislation”, will address the issue in the Uniting American Families Act. An important political issue with UAFA revolves around the principle of family reunification; many conservatives do not want to be seen as anti-family reunification, especially with the growing Latino voter base. Of note, is the fact that forty percent of LGBT binational couples in the United States include a Latino family member.

Support for Uniting American Families Act

The support for the Uniting American Families Act has increased in the House of Representatives, but much less so in the Senate. Organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and Immigration Equality, both supporters of gay rights legislation, support the bill. The Human Rights Campaign points out that the process for sponsoring a partner will have the same requirements that opposite-sex couples endure. HRC also comments that a number of countries, twenty-two, recognize same-sex couples under immigration law, such as France, Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom among others. The American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a letter of support for UAFA to senators that the bill does not provide special benefits for same-sex couples, but provides equal sponsorship. The ACLU also mentions that the bill follows along with traditional family reunification principles in immigration law as well as the U.S.’s lag in passing this sort of bill, which is already commonplace in various countries around the world. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) is also a supporter of UAFA and demands that comprehensive immigration reform include all immigrants, including lesbian and gay immigrants.

Several corporations and organizations, such as Intel Corporation and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, have come out in support of the bill. The Immigration Equality website has a list of organizations, labor unions, civil rights groups, religious institutions, and businesses that support the bill including Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, League of United Latin American Citizens, American Bar Association, American Airlines and the American Jewish Committee amongst others.

Opposition to Uniting American Families Act

Opponents believe that UAFA could open up the doors for Illegal immigration even though it would penalize those who attempt to evade immigration law. They believe that it will be hard for immigration officers to actually determine whether the partnership is long-term and permanent. The Center for Immigration Studies does not support the bill because, in their opinion, it does not provide a reliable measure for indicating who is in a long-term committed partnership.

While previously supporting family reunification legislation, such as H.R. 6638, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops does not support the inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act in a larger bill or standing on its own. National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference’s (NHCLC) leader Reverend Samuel Rodriguez predicts that the wide and strong support that the NHCLC has garnered for comprehensive immigration reform will be lost if same-sex couples are to benefit from the reform. Roy Beck, the founder and CEO of the non-profit organization NumbersUSA, which works for lower immigration levels, believes that increasing the number of green cards available, as the Uniting American Families Act would, is of profound environmental importance, connected to infrastructure debit and increases the amount of individuals competing for jobs in the market, which is not in the best interest for the national community. NumbersUSA is concerned that this is another type of piecemeal legislation that does not consider the increased number of green cards as a whole which is detrimental to the national community.

Criticism

Although the bill is created to align with opposite-sex couples standards, binational same-sex couples are unlikely to resemble opposite-sex couples. This could be due to international immigration law, especially in the case of financial interdependence if certain countries require finances to be kept separate in these cases, thus already excluding some couples and asking more than what opposite-sex couples must prove. Within the language of the bill opposite-sex couples are excluded from being able to become permanent partners under this act, making this bill only applicable to LGBT individuals. Additionally, same-sex couples with valid marriage certificates are prohibited from being considered “married” under this act and can only apply for visas as permanent partners. Due to the inability to be recognized as married partners under this act, the act then allows individuals who have had the opportunity in other states and countries to be married, but have chosen not to, the same immigration rights as those who have pursued marriage. . Additional criticism is presented under the opposition to UAFA section.

External links

• H.R. 1537 the House Bill Summary & Status at the Library of Congress' "Thomas" website
• S. 821 the Senate Bill Summary & Status at the Library of Congress' "Thomas" website
• Immigration Equality
• National Center for Lesbian Rights
• Out4Immigration Out4Immigration addresses the widespread discriminatory impact of U.S. immigration laws on the lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV+ people and their families through education, outreach, advocacy and the maintenance of a resource and support network.
• Love Exiles Love Exiles was founded by US citizens that were forced to choose between their love and their country, a choice no citizen should ever have to make. The need to choose comes as a result of US immigration law that discriminates against gays and lesbians. Love Exiles have virtual communities and activist centers in the Netherlands, Canada, the UK, Spain, Australia and Germany.
• Human Rights Campaign
• Human Rights Watch
• Website of "Through Thick and Thin", a documentary about the immigration struggles of gay and lesbian couples in America - (April 20, 2008 Internet Archive)
• Uniting American Families, Website advocating passage of UAFA and featuring true stories of binational same-sex couples who are adversely affected by the status quo
• imeQ.us℠ Gay Immigration Equality Rights Promoting public awareness of the need for fairness in immigration policy particularly as it relates to the rights of same-sex bi-national couples in the United States (USA) who seek immigration equality or equal immigration rights; Providing information regarding political issues relating to gay immigration equality rights and policy.
• Video of UAFA Senate hearings (June 3, 2009)
• Change.org's LGBT Immigration Rights' Page
• Change.org's LGBT Immigration Rights' Action Page - Every week, 5 congress representatives (House and / or Senate) will be contacted to urge them to support / cosponsor the Uniting American Families Act. You can join the weekly action here.
• Petition for Special LGBT Visa Class-Change.org's Immigration Rights Petition – Petition for Partners to remain together pending UAFA or other legislation