Shirley Tan, a California mom who was nearly deported in April because her  same-sex partner could not legally sponsor her for citizenship, has been invited to testify by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) hearings starting June 3. If passed, UAFA would extend same-sex couples the same immigration rights enjoyed by married couples, creating a legal path to citizenship.

Tan’s partner Jay Mercado and their twin sons will make the trip to Washington with their lawyer Melanie Nathan. From Nathan’s blog:

When I spoke to  Jay today, she said that the family is very honored and extremely excited to go to DC for this historic hearing.  They are looking forward to a visit to their representatives offices, Rep Jackie Speier and Senator Feinstein, especially to thank all the staffers who worked so hard to help them.

Shirley ’s ultimate ability to stay in the USA will depend on passage of  the Uniting of American Families Act. Shirley and Jay’s trip to DC will be sponsored by Immigration Equality,  who were great to work with when negotiating the details of the family’s participation.  Shirley and the family have stated that they will do everything they can to assist in getting UAFA passed.

Nathan will have extensive coverage the hearings on her blog as will we at inlookout.com. There will also be a live webcast of the hearings starting at 10am EST on June 3.

For background on their story, please watch the video below which aired just prior to Tan’s stay of deportation:

Senator Patrick Leahy will convene hearings on the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) starting June 3.  UAFA will eliminate immigration discrimination against bi-national same-sex couples by providing a legal path to citizenship. This will be the first time in the bill’s long history where it will actually receive a hearing, and is truly good news for those currently suffering under existing immigration policies. More from Immigration Equality:

The June 3rd hearing will not only be a milestone on our path to victory in Washington, but it will also be a watershed moment for ensuring that our families are part of the national conversation on immigration reform. This will be a powerful moment – and a significant step forward – in our work to educate lawmakers about our relationships and engage Congressional leaders on the issue. Members of Congress are traditionally reluctant to pass legislation that has not been discussed and weighed in at Congressional hearings, so a hearing is critical to UAFA’s future success, and its inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform. The hearing is, quite simply, one of the most significant moments ever in our work to secure full equality for lesbian and gay binational couples.

UAFA currently has 17 co-sponsors in the Senate under bill S.424 and 102 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives under H.R.1024. Congresswoman Jackie Speier has previously indicated that the measure will likely  be rolled into a larger immigration reform provided UAFA gets out of committee.

At a townhall meeting this past weekend I asked Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-12)—who represents my district—about immigration reform as it pertains to bi-national same-sex couples.

Speier is one of 97 co-sponsors for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which provides a path to citizenship for bi-national same-sex couples where one of the partners is not a natural-born or naturalized citizen. I asked Speier what was the best method of passing UAFA, either as a stand-alone  measure or as a part of more comprehensive immigration reform. I framed the question  around the story of Shirley Tan and Jay Mercado, a local bi-national lesbian couple nearly split apart by deportation. Speier responded directly:

So the only way that bill is going to get passed is if it’s part or larger immigration reform measure. That’s the intention of Zoe Lofgren who chairs the subcommittee and who will be moving the bill once one is actually crafted, and that’s the way we are going to see it happen.

Speier then began to speak at some length about the Tan and Mercado family:

The Tan family was in the office yesterday; they came in to thank us for the effort we had made. I’ve got to tell you this is a wonderful family with two thirteen your old boys that love both their parents and were frightened that they were going to lose their mother. So Senator Feinstein introduced a private bill which would prevent deportation.

…

They are now home and have two years of breathing space. This deportation will occur in two years unless Senator Feinstein reintroduces the bill. So hopefully we can address this issue [UAFA]. For those of you who don’t know about this… does anyone not know about this issue?

A smattering of nods and few voices in the affirmative…

Our immigration laws provide that if you are a naturalized or natural-born citizen and you marry some one who is not, that you can petition to have that individual stay in this country and receive a green card. Now, if you happen to be a gay or lesbian couple, that does not apply.

So in this case, this couple had been together 23 years, had been married locally, had two sons—the egg came from one spouse and was carried by the other spouse. The two of them are very committed physically, and emotionally to these children. And they’ve lived their lives in Pacifica… and their two sons were about to lose their mom. She was going to be deported mid-April.

We got a stay and we were able to do more due diligence, and finally Senator Feinstein said she could introduce the bill, so they now are an intact family.

And I did a home visit, because as part of the due dilligence, I wanted to find out if it was real or if it was a sham. And I looked through probably 6 picture albums, over the course of 13…15 years and there was never a more intact family, more committed family, more loving family. And they shouldn’t be discriminated against.

Pure and simple.

What followed was a resounding applause, perhaps the largest of the event. It filled me with hope and optimism, that this crowd of strangers felt empathy and support for the plight of Mercado and Tan family.

While not well-versed in the intricacies of getting legislation passed into law, I am concerned that UAFA will be bundled as a part of larger immigration reform. UAFA and the protections it provides is just the kind of the line item that can easily be scratched from a bill in order to get it through committee and eventually passed, particularly when contentious Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats may take issue with it. Senator Charles Schumer is optimistic comprehensive immigration reform may come before year’s end.

Never-the-less I applaud Speier’s support of UAFA and the Mercado and Tan family. In addition to UAFA, Speier continues to be a strong ally for the LGBT community, having co-sponsored HR. 1283 which would repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and voting for hate crimes legislation for LGBT, transgendered and disabled persons.

A California family will be torn apart this Friday as Shirley Tan is deported back to the Philippines, leaving behind her partner of 23 years Jay Mercado and her twelve-your-old twin sons.

As reported in the San Jose Mercury News…

It’s hard when they are breaking up families,” said a tearful Mercado, as she sat next to Tan in the house the couple owns overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “Why can’t they just leave us alone? Just because I am not a man, that I cannot petition her (for a green card), they are punishing us.”

“The thing is,” Tan said, “it’s not only me who they are punishing. It is mainly my kids, because they are innocent. They are the ones suffering.”

If deported, Tan will be banned from entering the U.S. for 10 years. Mercado is prepared to leave her job and home behind to keep the family together in the Philippines.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA-12), co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) and representing the couple’s district said this of the situation (from Immigration Equality)…

“Shirley Tan’s unacceptable situation is just one example of why Congress must pass immigration equality legislation.  The Uniting American Families Act, which I co-sponsored, will allow lesbian and gay Americans to sponsor their permanent partners for residency in the United States … In the near term, I am confident that any official who examines the facts in Shirley Tan’s case will come to the conclusion that this hard-working mother of two should not be sent to a country where she has no support network and was the victim of a horrific act of violence.”

The White House also confirmed their support for UAFA this week through spokesman Shin Inouye who said “The President thinks Americans with partners from other countries should not be faced with a painful choice between staying with their partner or staying in their country. We will work closely with Congress to craft comprehensive immigration reform legislation.”

Of course not everyone is so supportive…

“I’ve Got a simple answer for both of you lesbians, instead of trying to change our laws, just take your two sons with you, nobody will be suffering then. And don’t let that 747 plane door smack on your rear-ends, on your way to Manila!”

— The Mark Chamot Report

Hopefully opinions such of as Mark Chamot’s are in the minority. Since Congress is going into recess next week, we should make every effort to meet with our representatives and let them know we can no longer allow families like this to be split apart by supporting the Uniting American Families Act. The Immigration Forum has made a toolkit available detailing how to schedule meetings with your local representative.

Read more on the personal story of Shirley Tan and Jay Mercado.