Immigration Equality Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force/LA c/o L.A Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center/Legal Services Department 1625 North Schrader Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028-9998 (new vox) 213-526-2915 (fax) 213-993-7699 (email) LGIRTF@abacus.oxy.edu http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/immigration/lgirtfla.html NEWSLETTER: April 1996 APRIL MEETING SET FOR TUESDAY APRIL 9 at 7PM in NEW ROOM The next regularly-scheduled monthly meeting of Immigration Equality will be Tuesday, April 9 at 7pm at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center (1625 North Schrader Boulevard in Hollywood, two blocks west of Cahuenga Boulevard and one-half block south of Holywood Boulevard.) We will be meeting in a {\bf new room}. The Immigration Law Project has made Room 204 (on the second floor) in the library of the legal services department available for our monthly meetings. GOOD NEWS ABOUT ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILLS IN CONGRESS There are two anti-immigrant ``immigration reform'' bills moving through Congress, one in the House and one in the Senate. Recently, legislative action has resulted in a slightly more positive attitude t owards immigration issues. On March 21 the House voted (by a wide margin) to REMOVE provisions from Lamar Smith's HR 2202 which would have drastically reduced legal immigration levels. Unfortunately, the measures which would allow schools to deny education to undoc umented immigrant children as well as a 60-day deadline on asylum applications are still in the House bill. In the Senate, a bill sponsored by Alan Simpson of Wyoming would reduce the total number of immigrants by up to {\bf one-third}. However, recently an amendment to maintain relatively current levels of legal im migration, sponsored by Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Spencer Abraham of Michigan, was APRROVED in a Senate subcommittee. Thanks to grassroots lobbying, California U.S. Senator DIANNE FEINSTEIN reversed her previous anti-immigrant position and voted for the Kennedy-Abraham amendment. The full Senate is scheduled to debate the full Immigration Bill in the third week of April. Read your newspaper for details and contact your senators to make your opinions on immigration reform known. ( Honorable Dianne Feinstein, 11111 Santa Monica Blvd, #915, Los Angeles, CA 90025, phone: 310-914-7300, fax: 202-228-3954, email: senator@feinstein.senate.gov) ( Honorable Barbara Boxer, 2250 East Imperial Highway, Suite 545, El Segundo, CA 90025, phone: 310-414-5700, fax: 310-414-0988, email: senator@boxer.senate.gov) IMMIGRATION EQUALITY TO ADDRESS *Laguna Outreach* Wednesday April 10 On Wednesday April 10 from 7pm to 9pm LGIRTF members Ron Buckmire and Lionel Cantu will be speaking to Laguna Outreach, a popular gay and lesbian social organization based in Orange County. There will be a screening of ``Love Knows No Borders'' and a question and answer session on the connection between immigration and marriage and gays and lesbians. The event will occur at the Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach. LGIRTF MEMBER MEETS INS COMMISSIONER DORIS MEISSNER On Tuesday, April 3 LGIRTF member Jeff Kim was among a group of people meeting with the head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Doris Meissner. Jeff was able to get a verbal commitment from the Commissioner that health facilities are not targets of INS raids. This whole issue came up in response to a January 31 INS raid of a Los Angeles County-run mobile HIV/STD clinic at which dozens of undocumented immigrants were arrested. If you experience or know of any who has experienced problems in this area contact Jeff Kim at the Immigration Law Project, at 213-993-7677. IMMIGRATION EQUALITY TO APPEAR AT UCLA Wednesday April 24 On Wednesday April 24 from 6pm to 8pm LGIRTF members Ron Buckmire and Jeff Kim will be speaking to MAHU, an Asian-Pacific Islander queer student gro up at UCLA. The title of the presentation is ``Aliens: Close Encounters of the Q ueer Kind -- Immigration policy and gays & lesbians.'' There will be a screenin g of the film ``Love Knows No Borders'' and a discussion/reception afterwards, in Room 1102 of Perloff Hall. IMMIGRATION INTERNET ORGANIZING CONTINUES Immigration Equality continues to use the Internet to further its organizing efforts. Immigration Equality has its own web page which is part of a larger site devoted to Queer Immigration, featuring information from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and other LGIRTF chapters in the USA. The site is at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/immigration In addition, a mailing list devoted to discussion of issues of immigration and sexual orientation exists, called QI (Queer Immigration). To subscribe to the list, email qi-request@abacus.oxy.edu with the one-line message SUBSCRIBE QI You can also contact Immigration Equality at LGIRTF@abacus.oxy.edu. WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU In order to reduce our costs of sending these newsletters we need to hear from people who want to continue receiving them. Please CALL US at 213-526-2915 and leave your name and phone number to let us know you want to remain on our mailing list. Thanks! Immigration Equality seeks to end discrimination in immigration against lesbians and gay men through education, outreach, advocacy, and a nationwide resource and support network. OUR MISSION * To advocate equal immigration rights for lesbian and gay people * To support marriage as a vehicle for lesbian and gay immigration * To build an immigration legal resource and social support network for the lesbian and gay community. * To empower lesbian and gay people with knowledge of immigration rights