Get a sneak peek at the new KPCC.org! Try out our beta site and give us feedback.

Catholic Bishops won’t support immigration bill for gay families

June 10, 2009 | By Kitty Felde

One of the most vocal supporters of immigration reform has been the Catholic Church. But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will not support an immigration bill that includes protections for gay and lesbian couples. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde has the story.

Kitty Felde: Congressman Mike Honda has introduced a bill to expand the definition of immigrant families eligible to stay in the U.S. Under Honda’s bill, a widow who’s not a legal U.S. resident could stay if her husband dies. Same for widowers and orphans.

But Honda’s written in a provision so someone who’s gay can sponsor a same-sex partner for legal U.S. residency. Honda, who’s a Democrat from San Jose, says for him, including same-sex partners is a civil rights issue.

Congressman Mike Honda: When the founders wrote “All men are created equal,” we know today that we have included, we can change that into man, woman, blacks, whites. And today’s just another step of evolving and understanding that when we say all families, we do mean all families.

Felde: Honda’s bill was inspired by Shirley Tan. She’s an immigrant from the Philippines who lives in San Francisco. Tan overstayed her tourist visa when she came to the U.S. 23 years ago.

She met a woman, fell in love and started a family. She and her partner have two sons. In January, immigration authorities, citing that long-expired tourist visa, ordered her to leave the U.S.

Shirley Tan: The officer told me, “Miss Tan, you have a problem with immigration.” And we were surprised.

Felde: Rachel Tiven heads the activist group Immigration Equality. She says if Shirley Tan and her partner Jay Mercado had been a straight couple, this wouldn’t have happened.

Rachel Tiven: Really all they want is to be able to keep their family together in the United States. The boys are American citizens. Jay is an American citizen. But because she is a lesbian, she cannot sponsor Shirley for a green card, for which Shirley would otherwise be eligible.

Felde: Congressman Honda’s bill would change that. But it doesn’t have the backing of one of the major players in the immigration reform debate: the Catholic Church.

Kevin Appleby: Well, we have an issue politically as well as policy-wise

Felde: Kevin Appleby is director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Appleby: First of all, politically it adds another complication to an already controversial national issue – immigration. By adding the issue of same-sex benefits to the mix, it just makes the issue even more explosive than it is already.

Felde: The bishops have actively supported immigration reform for decades. But Appleby says the bishops won’t back special benefits for same-sex partners.

Appleby: It would get federal law to recognize that permanent partnerships or same sex partners are on an equal with heterosexual marriage.

Felde: Honda’s bill has received support from other religious groups, including Rabbi David Saperstein, who heads the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He calls objections from the Catholic bishops “a respectful difference.”

Rabbi David Saperstein: Nobody has been stauncher about a fair immigration policy than the Catholic Church has been. They’ve been at the forefront of this. At the end of the day, they will have to decide – this will be fought out in the legislative process – and they’re going to have to make the decision whether or not in the end they can support the bill.

Felde: Congressman Mike Honda wants his bill included in a broader immigration reform measure that Congress could tackle this fall. The White House will host meetings next week about what should go into that reform measure. As for Shirley Tan – she’ll stay in the U.S. for now. Senator Dianne Feinstein sponsored a private bill that delays her deportation for two years. By then, Congress might have passed an immigration measure that will let Shirley Tan get a green card.

Join our community: Like KPCC on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get updates and talk about the day's news with other fans.

blog comments powered by Disqus