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Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) offered the teary-eyed child of a congressional witness some privacy during an emotional congressional hearing. (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
COMMENTS
 
A congressional witness almost came to tears Wednesday when she spoke in support of a controversial gay immigration bill.
Shirley Tan, a Philippines national who has been living in Pacifica, Calif., with her same-sex partner of 23 years, told the Senate Judiciary Committee how U.S. immigration officials took her from her home in January after showing her a 2002 deportation letter, which she said she had never seen before.
“I was put into a van with two men in yellow jump suits and chains and searched like a criminal, in a way I have only seen in movies,” he said.
Tan choked back tears as she described the experience to the committee. The testimony spurred tears from her 12-year-old son who was at the hearing.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chair of the committee and lead sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act, offered the child privacy in the back room of the chambers.
“I just want to you to know, young man, your mother is a very brave woman,” Leahy said.
Under current immigration law, Tan is scheduled for deportation in 2011. Tan said no one in her family could help her stay in the country beyond that time and asked lawmakers to pass the Uniting American Families Act to enable her to stay in the country.
The legislation would change U.S. immigration policy to allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign partners for residency. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced the bill earlier this year in the House and Leahy introduced it in the Senate.
Leahy advocated for passing the legislation during the hearing and argued “there is no place for discrimination in our federal law.”
But Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican member of the committee, contended that its passage would amount to a federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
He also said “there is real potential for fraud” with the legislation and its passage would be “providing an additional avenue for abuse of the marriage preference for immigration into our country.”
Nadler, who testified at the hearing, said the legislation had no relation to the marriage debate.
“This legislation is not intended to legalize gay marriage, it’s not intended to deal with that issue at all, it’s intended to alleviate a gratuitous and purposeless cruelty in the law for about 36,000 people,” he said.
Nadler also said that same-sex couples would have to prove they are in committed relationships, just as opposite-sex couples do, or “face the same penalties of fraud.”
Illinois lawmakers let stall this week a bill that would have allowed civil unions for same-sex couples.
Their spring session ended Sunday, concluding before legislators took up several high-profile measures, including the civil unions bill. The abrupt end was a surprise to some LGBT activists in the state who had expected to see a vote on the bill.
Rick Garcia, political director for Equality Illinois, told the Blade last month that he was “absolutely” expecting the full state House and the Senate to pass a civil union measure before it adjourned.
The National Black Justice Coalition is looking for a new leader after its executive director stepped down.
H. Alexander Robinson is “moving on to other opportunities,” according to a statement from the organization. Sylvia Rhue, the group’s religious affairs and constituency development director, became interim director June 1.
The organization has begun a national search to find its next executive director.
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