Hello all,
The Coalition has been invited to attend a meeting concerning the Immigration Law, SB 1070. The following is a forwarded email; it is my hope that you will carefully consider its contents.
Thank you,
Sarah Murray
Co-Director, ASU LGBTQ Coalition
FWD:
As you may already know, SB1070 is very much a queer issue. Immigration laws are currently set up to disproportionately –and negatively- affect the LGBTQ community. Because of heteronormative familial preferences in immigration laws, U.S. citizens and permanent residents in binational same-sex relationships are not able to sponsor their immigrant partners (and, based on congress’ homophobic track record, the Uniting American Families Act doesn’t seem as though it will pass anytime in the near future). So, when you hear opponents of SB1070 saying that the bill will separate families, it’s important to stand up for all of the beautifully queer families that will come under attack with no legal recourse. Similarly, immigrants of transgender and gender-variant experience (particularly transwomen) are disproportionately detained and deported because their survival strategies have been criminalized, and because of transgender police profiling (stats retrieved from the Sylvia Rivera Law Project). Because trans -and, generally, queer- folks often find themselves abandoned by their families (and because heterosexist spousal preferences also make it near impossible for transgender folks to have even their heterosexual marriages recognized by INS), the “proper channels” for obtaining so-called “legal documentation” quite overtly discriminate against our LGBTQ community.
For these and many other reasons, I’d like to invite the LGBTQ Coalition, and all of the organizations subsumed under it, to organize and mobilize. We are creating a student coalition that will meet *this* Wednesday (05.19.2010) at 3:00PM at Three Roots (please find attached the address and a map) in order to discuss strategies to support those affected by the racist, sexist, homophobic, classist, and transphobic attacks that are currently being legislated against us… which, needless to say, affect just about everyone. We would love to see you -and anyone else from your organizations- there, in order to begin a movement based on respect and solidarity. We can’t do it without our lesbians/gays/bisexuals/trans-people/queers/two-spirits/intersex folks/pansexuals/polyamorous people/MSM/etc.. Feel free to e-mail/text/call me with any questions or comments (480.593.4627). And, if you can, I'd appreciate it if you could forward this e-mail to -or otherwise invite- any members/leaders I may have missed. Thanks!!
With love and in solidarity,
a de la maza pérez tamayo
Three Roots
Address:
Suite B, 1020 South Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ - (480) 966-4949
Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=three+roots...