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Lesbian mother’s deportation stayed through 2010!

Great news from the Bay Area! A bill has been introduced in Congress on behalf of Shirley Tan, the mother of two who was threatened with deportation because her relationship with her partner is not federally recognized. (Read up on Tan’s backstory in our previous blog post.)

Though passage of the bill is unlikely, its introduction has stayed her deportation until next year. The delay will allow the family (shown here with Senator Barbara Boxer) to spend more time together and make any necessary plans for the future. Immigration Equality has the full story on Tan’s deportation stay here.

Though Tan’s story is looking up, at least temporarily, thousands of families across the country aren’t so lucky. That’s why LGBT rights advocates hope the 2010 stay will allow enough time to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). If passed, the UAFA would allow same-sex binational families to naturalize one another. Of course, if same-sex couples were allowed the freedom to marry, heartwrenching cases like Shirley Tan’s would be a thing of the past.

So, what can Oregonians do? Two easy things:

STEP ONE: Join us in supporting immigrants’ and workers’ rights at the May Day march and rally at the Capitol this Friday, May 1st, from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. The event is being organized by CAUSA, PCUN, SEIU, and many more. Contact aubrey@basicrights.org to carpool from Portland, or rebecca@basicrights.org to carpool from Eugene.

STEP TWO: Write your Congressional Representative and your Senators in support of the Uniting American Families Act. Write your Representative here, write your Senator here, and find out more about the Uniting American Families Act by clicking here.