Thread: Illegal Alien Talking Points Blanket Gay Media

The following editorial is from the Lesbian and Gay news website washblade.com. It is typical of the pro-illegal immigration opinion pieces that are currently blanketing local and national Gay media. All claim to be written by Hispanic Lesbians or Gay men, and they tend to share specific talking points:

*That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from unjust prejudice.
*That some illegal aliens are Gay.
*That sexual orientation and HIV discrimination against Gay immigrants. parallels the denial of amnesty to illegal aliens.
*That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from being "in the closet."
*That the Religious Right is the enemy of both Gay people and illegal aliens, so the two groups should join forces.

This effort to recruit Lesbians and Gay men to the illegal alien cause is so concerted, I strongly suspect it is not part of any "grass roots" movement. It is being driven and funded by corporate and political interests who crave cheap labor and open borders. I'm posting an example of this propaganda to alert alipac members to a media campaign they may not have known about.


OPINION
Justice isn’t about ‘just us’ (Gay)
It’s time for immigrants and gays to stand together, end scapegoating and fight for each other’s rights

By RANDI ROMO
Friday, May 05, 2006

AS A MEXICAN-American lesbian, I have been watching with great interest the debates over immigrant rights as well as the ongoing struggle for fair and equal treatment by gay people.

Because of my place in both of these worlds, I am often privy firsthand to the intolerance and prejudice of some members of these groups toward the another.

From many of my Latinos, I hear the arguments and the support for laws that continue to deny gay people equal rights. At the same time, I hear many gays expressing strong anti-immigrant sentiments, as well as calling undocumented workers law-breakers who deserve no consideration for citizenship.

It is a constant source of amazement to me to see how quickly each group embraces and actively contributes to the lifespan of injustice suffered by the other. All the while, they are each bemoaning their own ill treatment at the hands of unjust U.S. laws.

These webs of prejudice have been carefully spun to keep the disenfranchised too entangled to see clearly how they are being played against each other. Right now, while the immigration issue is on the front burner, the religious right is gearing up for another run at a federal marriage amendment targeting lesbian and gay Americans, writing discrimination into the U.S. Constitution.

IN ADDITION TO setting
immigrants and gays against one another to perpetuate prejudice, there is an attempt to sway the opinion of African Americans. They are being encouraged to participate in activities that hurt others’ quest for justice.

There has been a deliberate courting of African Americans by both anti-immigrant and anti-gay factions—often the same groups and individuals—to buy into rhetoric that paints immigrants as "stealing" jobs from black and gays as undeserving of equality based on religious beliefs.

On the one hand, immigrants are being told that unless they are citizens they cannot have rights, while gays are being told that despite being citizens, they cannot have rights. Each one helps keep the other down, while African Americans are encouraged to step on both groups, while continuing to face racism themselves.

WHAT THAT LEAVES us with is a
lot of people who are systemically discriminated against fighting each other for top rung on the ladder of oppression. Like crabs in a barrel, we keep pulling one another down, doing the dirty work for a system whose power structure depends on our remaining divided and actively opposing each other.

Many Latinos oppose equal rights for gays as a matter of religious belief. Amazingly enough, many of them agree with the anti-immigrant faction’s position on denying equal rights to gays. This despite the fact that their oppressors are also intent on preventing any form of humane immigration reform or opening a path to citizenship for the people already in the country.

Contributing to all of this is the fact that people are scared, and fear is the best tool to keep oppressed people from joining efforts. And it’s working.

Immigrants and gays are the sacrificial lambs, diverting attention from the real problems, like jobs that pay living wages, access to health care, quality education and safe and affordable housing.

Immigrants and gays actually have a lot in common. In many jurisdictions, if you are undocumented or gay you can be fired from or refused a job; refused the rental or sale of a home or be evicted; forced to live in the shadows/closet; targeted by legislators seeking to gain political power; violently physically and verbally assaulted; forced to pay taxes with no rights; denied access to a variety of government programs; and denied a legal marriage license.

It is a time to stand in solidarity, to bring both immigrants and gays out of the shadows. It is time to call for an end to the scapegoating and call for fair and just treatment on immigration reform, creating a path to citizenship for those who are here, as well as providing equal rights and responsibilities for gay men and lesbians.

It is a time for us to take responsibility for how our respective communities have contributed to the injustice of the other. Now more than ever, we must come to understand that justice isn’t about "just us," it is about justice for all.

This second example of illegal alien talking points in Gay media comes from the website advocate.com. It's an excerpt from an article by Jennifer Schumaker, a Lesbian who's currently on a "Rights Walk" along the coast of California. The only difference between this article and others I've seen is that Ms. Schumaker is not Latina. Once again, readers have the contention that Gay people and illegal aliens are natural allies shoved down their throats. And for the umpteenth time, we see no distinction made between immigrants and illegal aliens.

On another day, I got rerouted when I had strayed onto a stretch of Route 1 that became a freeway. The California Highway Patrol officer was very understanding and didn’t ticket me, but instead directed me to the frontage road. He was reading my many buttons of gay and trans support. I walked past miles of farmworkers in the fields and had lots of time to reflect on what their reality might be.

I found myself having lunch at a little mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant, where I met Javier. I told him about my mission and I asked him if he thought that immigrants and gay folks could get along. He said, “Yes,” and holding each hand out to symbolize the groups, continued, moving the one hand, “People don’t see us. People don’t see immigrants. And people don’t see gay people.” He brought his hands together and clasped them. “We can work together and we can help each other.”

That's a load of crock lol.

God how so many people create connections to suite their own needs. It's ridiculous, to join gay's and illegal immigrants together is really grasping for straws here.

This example is from the Gay website newyorkblade.com. Once again, the point being made is that Gay men and Lesbians are "obligated" to support illegal aliens because some of them are Gay. I suppose since some Gay people are Mafiosi we should support them, too?

OPINION

Gays Should Join Immigration Fight
Planned reforms would damage our community too

By RACHEL TIVEN
Monday, May 08, 2006

"WE ARE NOT criminals!"

Over the past several weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have hit the streets to demand equal rights, and to refuse to be branded as criminals. It’s not Pride month, but the message resonates.

Our community has an obligation to fight for equal immigration rights. Until 1990, gays and lesbians were legally barred from immigrating to the United States.

THE CURRENT DEBATE on immigration reform has prompted much talk about "illegal aliens," and the LGBT community should understand the incredible damage that proposed changes in the law could do to our families.

The House of Representatives’ immigration bill, H.R. 4437, and some of the parallel provisions being debated in the Senate include:

Criminalization of undocumented status H.R. 4437 would make it a felony to be present in the U.S. without legal immigration status. Currently, "unlawful presence" is a civil violation, not a crime. H.R. 4437 would lead to undocumented LGBT immigrants being jailed and deported, simply because they had no other way to remain in the U.S. and maintain family unity.

"Alien harboring" H.R. 4437 and the Senate bill dramatically expand the definition of "harboring." Although the Senate bill has exceptions for humanitarian assistance providers, U.S. citizens living with undocumented partners could be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned and have their homes and assets seized. Legal service providers, churches and social workers would also be at risk.

Document fraud Further provisions in the bill add criminal as well as immigration related penalties for convictions involving the use of false identity documents, such as a driver’s license or social security card. These provisions could be particularly dangerous for transgender immigrants who may have identity documents with different names and gender markers.

Asylum restrictions H.R. 4437 also jeopardizes the safety of LGBT asylum seekers fleeing persecution. The bill makes many people ineligible for asylum and eliminates almost all rights to federal judicial review of meritorious asylum claims. These policy changes are particularly dangerous for LGBT asylum seekers who often do not know upon arrival that persecution they suffered on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity can be a ground for asylum.

Detainees H.R. 4437 expands immigration detention and threatens to overturn Supreme Court rulings that found indefinite detention of noncitizens unconstitutional.

IN SHORT, comprehensive immigration reform cannot be complete without justice for LGBT families.

The passage of the Uniting American Families Act (H.R. 3006/S. 127 would bring us much closer to equality under the immigration law. The "UAFA" is a simple piece of legislation that would allow American citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor their partners for legal permanent residence—a "green card." Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are working to build support for the bill.

The passage of the UAFA would be the first federal recognition of same-sex relationships—a small change in the immigration law but a historic victory for our community.

*That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from unjust prejudice.
*That some illegal aliens are Gay.
*That sexual orientation and HIV discrimination against Gay immigrants. parallels the denial of amnesty to illegal aliens.
*That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from being "in the closet."
*That the Religious Right is the enemy of both Gay people and illegal aliens, so the two groups should join forces.

I was going to say something but I'm still laughing.

That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from being "in the closet."

I thought only Gays were "in the closet". Aren't Illegals the ones "in the shadows"?