LGBT Russians Seeking Asylum in U.S. Face Significant Economic Hurdles

There has been a steady uptick of gay Russians seeking asylum here in the U.S. in light of increasing anti LGBT-sentiment in Russia. Facing extreme persecution and harassment in their home country, many queer Russians are faced with a difficult choice living under constant threat of physical harm or relocating to a country with which they have little to no relationship. While the U.S. can act as a pseudo-safe haven, those Russians that do decide to flee to the U.S. are often presented with a new set of economic problems.

Andrew Nasonov, a former journalist, fled to the U.S. with his now husband Igor Bazilevsky earlier this summer. Though the couple was able to legally marry after moving to Washington, D.C., staying financially stable and independent has proven to be difficult.

"It was hard to leave our relatives, friends, and parents behind in Russia,” Nasonov explained to the Associated Press. “We have nothing here, and in many ways are completely dependent on the assistance of the people who surround us."

While the United States will offer LGBT-identified individuals asylum, the government will not yet classify those granted asylum refugee status, which makes the official immigration process tough to navigate.

"There's no worse way to immigrate to the U.S. than the way these people are doing it," said Russian-American journalist and LGBT activist Masha Gessen. "You have nothing, and you have no right to work or public assistance. We've seen people end up on the streets."

Since 2012 the number of applications for asylum from queer Russians has increased by 34 percent according to the Department of Defense. While the U.S. is one of the more receptive western nations when it comes to granting asylum to endangered populations, each applicant is required to document and prove their circumstance on a case by case basis.

"It makes no sense because most of our arrivals have advanced degrees and speak good English," said Russian asylum advocate Larry Poltavtsev. "They're capable of being productive, paying taxes, but we are not letting them do those things while they're waiting."

Breaking Down the Cowardly and Childish Temper Tantrum Republicans are Throwing Over Immigration

Often when I’ve described the behavior of the Republican party toward President Obama, I’ve evoked the image of a petulant child throwing a hissy fit. Honestly, that’s often what I see when they’re on another one of their irrational fear mongering campaigns against the president. I don’t see rational adults hoping to work with another adult in a mature manner, I see children who desperately want to get their way being unable to do so because the adult that’s in charge won’t let them.

This situation with immigration is a perfect example.

About a year and a half ago, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together in a rare showing of bipartisanship to pass comprehensive immigration reform by a vote of 68-32. It wasn’t even as if the vote for this bill was close – it overwhelmingly passed the Senate, and it was a bill the president said he would sign.

But as most of us know, we never saw comprehensive immigration reform get passed in this country because Speaker of the House John Boehner refused to even let the House vote on it. And I think it’s important to clarify what I mean by that. It’s not that this Senate bill went up for a vote in the House and failed, it’s that Boehner wouldn’t even let them vote on it. And the reason why he didn’t let the House vote on this piece of legislation is because all indicators pointed to it passing.

Just think about that for a moment. Two-thirds of our government comes out on the record (one verbally, one via the Senate’s vote) in support of a piece of legislation. Not only that, but all signs point to this legislation passing in the House of Representatives if it were to come up for a vote, meaning that President Obama would have then signed it into law.

Except Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner flat-out won’t let the House vote on it.

I don't blame her!

Tea Partier Michelle Bachmann Wants to Put Refugee Children Into Concentration Camps!

Michele Bachmann has devised a solution to the problem of what to do with the Central American children streaming across the border fleeing violence in their homelands, and it is so painfully simple it’s surprising that no one has thought of it before! Get this: labor camps where refugee children would be “Americanized” for half of the day and work to earn their keep the other half! Oh, wait, wasn’t something like that tried once before, in Nazi Germany?

KCTV reports that Bachmann told conservative radio host Jason Lewis that she would like to see these children sent to what she euphemistically refers to as “Americanization facilities” where the would be taught to speak English and “allowed” to work and, as payment for their labor, be given a fast track to citizenship.

According to KCTV she told Lewis:

“We’d of course want these facilities to be ideal, you know, for the children to work and learn. They’d spend half of their day working, and the other half learning what every child should learn, and that’s English, you know, English and American history. And as soon as they learn English with some degree of fluency, they can attend local schools, maybe with a voucher program, or something like that. And then they could work when they aren’t in school. 

I think this is a great way to bring businesses into the Texas and Arizona areas, and maybe other states struggling with low employment opportunities, thanks mostly to Obama’s policies. Once these kids grow up, they’d leave a big gap of new job opportunities, and that’s what this is all about. It’s about opportunity, not just for these kids but for the American people. It helps the businesses, and if we can raise fifty-thousand God-fearing, English-speaking Americans, who understand real American values, then I’d say it’s a job well done.”

Not surprisingly some have questioned whether this is the appropriate way to deal with these children, Jose Antonio Vargas an immigrant from the Philippines and immigration activist said of the plan:

“She wants to create Republican indoctrination camps and force these poor children into lives of indentured servitude. She’s talking about labor camps where we raise an army of future Republican voters, and work them like slaves until they get old enough to possibly deport, if it comes to that. No one should be taking anything this woman says seriously.”

Comedian Hari Kondabolu humorously points out an inconvenient fact about Superman. (Not that you should start rooting for Lex Luthor.)

Murican Christianity

How The Humanitarian Crisis At The Border Is Turning Into A Disaster For The GOP

Right now, the conservative media is drooling over the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. It’s not immigration! It’s invasion! It’s all Obama’s fault all these kids are bringing their filthy disease to our country! Etc. Etc. It’s the perfect story to rile up the base ahead of the midterms and the demagoging is about to ramp up to a fever pitch now that President Obama has asked for $4 billion from Congress to deal with it:

WASHINGTON — President Obama is requesting almost $4 billion in emergency funding from Congress to confront an immigration crisis from a wave of unaccompanied children surging across the southern border of the United States, White House officials said Tuesday.

The financial request, which is almost twice the amount officials had previously signaled might be necessary, would boost spending on border patrol agents, immigration judges, aerial surveillance, and new detention facilities. Nearly half of the money would be used to improve care for the children while they are moved through the deportation process.

The GOP already wants to use this issue to hammer Obama. The chances of them giving him the money to fix it is pretty much zero. They’ll find all kinds of excuses and make all kinds of demands but it won’t matter what the president offers, they’ll still say “Hell no you can’t!” And then they’ll try to blame him for it.

The problem with this short sighted strategy is that the right wing media will have exactly zero control over their base. Already, the visual of a mob of angry white people in Texas California screaming “USA! USA! USA!” at a busload of Latino children and the people supporting them is deeply imprinted on the mind of Latino voters. Hell, one of these rabid bigots“patriots” actually spit in the face of a popular Mexican musician with 798,000 followers on Twitter:

Y dicen que Los paisanos no tenemos modales? Q somos groseros, somos pelioneros!!! pic.twitter.com/u6zGkRcL7c
— LUPILLO RIVERA (@LUPILLO8) July 2, 2014

Yeah, THAT’S going to work wonders on the Latino vote. And essentially calling a bunch of kids disease ridden vermin? Why ever would Latinos think that right wingers are racist pigs?

As long as Obama makes every effort to deal fairly with these children, preferably by reuniting them with their families here or, at the very least, not sending them back into harm’s way in the countries they are fleeing, he’s going to come out looking like the reasonable one. Meanwhile, the GOP, wallowing in the intense racism of its base, will continue to look like what it is: The party of angry white bigots.

Keep appealing to the hate of your base GOP, you’re doing great!

U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam Issues First Visa to Gay Spouse

John Kerry's pronouncement on Friday that the U.S. would immediately begin treating visa applications from same-sex couples in the same manner as those from heterosexual couples led to this historic event yesterday.

From the U.S. Consulate General, Amsterdam's Facebook page:

Mr. Francois Conradie is moving to New York, and visited the U.S. Consulate General in Amsterdam for his L2 visa interview on Friday. Today, he was surprised by Consul General Berry, who presented him with the printed visa placed in his passport. This is the first derivative visa we have had the privilege of issuing to the same-sex spouse of a visa applicant in Amsterdam since the U.S. Supreme Court's repeal of DOMA.

Have a great trip Mr. Conradie!

Congressman who used to be a high school English teacher irks GOP by marking their memos with a red pen

Hoping that members of the House of Representatives will start using facts and coherent logic to advance the nation's interest is still a fool's errand, but there's one member of Congress, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), who's willing to at least pretend it's possible. Breaking out the teacher's most potent weapon, a red pen, he marked up Republican House members' letter to John Boehner forcing asking him to resist the immigration reform bill that has already passed America's slightly-less-insane upper chamber. Included in his comments are some words we haven't seen on a Congressional document in years, like "evidence," as well as an awesome invitation to "come by my office" if "you don't understand the bill."

Frankly, my favorite part is pointing out that given a proper word count, the bill is only 286 pages long. Why do I like this? Because "it's too long to read" is one of the GOP's new favorite reasons not to support things, which really does not help their anti-intellectual image. Obamacare, hate it or tolerate it, had about as many words as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, not that Congresspeople read at that grade level. Can we at least agree that Congress shouldn't sound so afraid of reading?

Congress is pretty much the least-popular thing in America, which is impressive in the land of Honey Boo-Boo and Chris Brown. If there's one kind of person who isn't afraid to do their job in the face of massive unpopularity, though, it's a high-school teacher.

Janet Napolitano: Gay Binational Couples Eligible for Green Cards

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has released a statement regarding immigration visa petitions and gay binational couples:

“After last week’s decision by the Supreme Court holding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, President Obama directed federal departments to ensure the decision and its implication for federal benefits for same-sex legally married couples are implemented swiftly and smoothly. To that end, effective immediately, I have directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review immigration visa petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse.”

The Department of Homeland Security has also released this FAQ:

Q1: I am a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident in a same-sex marriage to a foreign national. Can I now sponsor my spouse for a family-based immigrant visa?

A1: Yes, you can file the petition. You may file a Form I-130 (and any applicable accompanying application). Your eligibility to petition for your spouse, and your spouse’s admissibility as an immigrant at the immigration visa application or adjustment of status stage, will be determined according to applicable immigration law and will not be automatically denied as a result of the same-sex nature of your marriage.

Q2: My spouse and I were married in a U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, but we live in a state that does not. Can I file an immigrant visa petition for my spouse?

A2: Yes, you can file the petition. In evaluating the petition, as a general matter, USCIS looks to the law of the place where the marriage took place when determining whether it is valid for immigration law purposes. That general rule is subject to some limited exceptions under which federal immigration agencies historically have considered the law of the state of residence in addition to the law of the state of celebration of the marriage. Whether those exceptions apply may depend on individual, fact-specific circumstances. If necessary, we may provide further guidance on this question going forward.

Gay Binational Couples Now Eligible For Green Cards

Yesterday's death of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by the Supreme Court is going to have far-reaching effects, and one of the first ones that we can see is that foreign spouses of gay couples can now qualify for green cards. According to Immigration Equality, Section 3 of DOMA made it impossible for gay and lesbian spouses to receive federal benefits, which included green cards. With DOMA ruled unconstitutional, legally married homosexual couples can now apply for green cards for their foreign spouse.

Said Rachel Tiven, the executive director of Immigration Equality:

“Many of our families have waited years, and in some cases decades, for the green card they need to keep their families together. Couples forced into exile will be coming home soon. Americans separated from their spouses are now able to prepare for their reunion. Today’s ruling is literally a life-changing one for those who have suffered under DOMA and our discriminatory immigration laws.”

Life-changing, indeed. A heartfelt congratulations to all of the couples who can reunite their families again.

WOMAN BEING DENIED CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE HER MORALITY DOESN’T COME FROM RELIGION

Margaret Doughty, a 64-year old woman from the UK who has spent the past 30+ years in the U.S., is in the process of applying for United States Citizenship and happens to be an atheist. She is currently a permanent resident running non-profit adult literacy organizations, doing her part to enrich the lives of American citizens. In the process of applying for citizenship, all candidates are asked if they’d be willing to take up arms in defense of the United States of America.  Ms. Doughty responded,

“I am sure the law would never require a 64 year-old woman like myself to bear arms, but if I am required to answer this question, I cannot lie. I must be honest. The truth is that I would not be willing to bear arms. Since my youth I have had a firm, fixed and sincere objection to participation in war in any form or in the bearing of arms.  I deeply and sincerely believe that it is not moral or ethical to take another person’s life, and my lifelong spiritual/religious beliefs impose on me a duty of conscience not to contribute to warfare by taking up arms…my beliefs are as strong and deeply held as those who possess traditional religious beliefs and who believe in God…I want to make clear, however, that I am willing to perform work of national importance under civilian direction or to perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States if and when required by the law to do so.”

Senator Patrick Leahy Files Floor Amendment to Immigration Bill for Gay Binational Couples

Senator Patrick Leahy has filed a floor amendment to the immigration bill for gay bi-national couples, the Washington Blade reports:

 

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced on Tuesday he filed an amendment to comprehensive immigration reform along the lines of a carve-out to the Defense of Marriage Act that he proposed — and withdrew — when the Senate Judiciary Committee was considering the bill.

“Seeking equal protection under our laws for the LGBT community is the right thing to do,” Leahy said in a statement. “I withheld my anti-discrimination amendment during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup. As the entire Senate turns to debate the immigration bill, the fight for equality must go on.”

The amendment filed by Leahy, No. 1182, would repeal part of DOMA to enable married bi-national same-sex couples to apply for a visa through the marriage-based green-card application process.

Read the amendment HERE.

Defeat of DOMA, More Critical Than Ever, as Key Senate Democrats Signal They Will Abandon LGBT Amendments to Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Today will likely be the day many of us have long known would come. Twenty years of grass roots organizing and exhaustive advocacy has brought us here, and yet it will now fail. The historic opportunity to pass a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with an amendment providing for the unification of LGBT families, is almost certainly gone.

Without an amendment in Committee, there stands zero chance of such an amendment being added next month on the Senate floor. Media reports (Politico, Washington Blade, AP) in the past few days has all but confirmed that at least two leading Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have caved to empty Republican threats to sabotage immigration reform if lesbian and gay Americans are included. These two prominent members of the Senate Judiciary Committee could have stood up to the outrageous Republican scapegoating of lesbian and gay Americans, but they did not. If you have ever felt like calling a U.S. Senator, particularly if you live in New York or California, you should consider making that call now.

Despite hearing from tends of thousands of constituents in recent weeks, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) have not budged. They will refuse to vote for either amendment, and as a result, Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy, will likely not call either of his LGBT amendments (the one based on the Uniting American Families Act, which I helped write 14 years ago, or his historic and unexpected Marriage Equality “DOMA Carve Out” exception) for a vote knowing that the amendment will fail to garner the necessary 10 out of 10 Democratic votes to pass out of Committee.