Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez (4th) says that immigration reform will “definitely” include LGBT people.
Gutierrez, long seen as supportive on LGBT rights, said that LGBT inclusion in the immigration bill is necessary. Gutierrez is among eight U.S. reps. negotiating immigration reform in the House.
His statements come after a bipartisan group of senators introduced an immigration bill that did not cover LGBT families, much to the disappointment of LGBT rights groups.
Gutierrez said that including LGBT couples in the bill will be harder sell in the Republican-controlled House than in the Senate, but that he supports inclusion.
“The LGBT community will definitely be included in immigration reform with more than 250,000 LGBT undocumented who stand to get legal status and others who will have an opportunity to come legally through broader legal channels for family and work visas,” Gutierrez said in a statement to Windy City Times. “The big question is whether same sex bi-national couples will be recognized for the purposes of our family immigration system and I think they should.”
Gutierrez was also among those backing the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), another bill that would provide citizenship routes for same-sex bi-national couples. UAFA could be tacked on to the current Senate bill as an amendment.
A spokesperson for Gutierrez said the House bill will resemble the Senate bill with some exceptions.
Full coverage on the Senate bill is available at: windycitytimes.com/lgbt/Battle-over-LGBT-immigration-status-begins/42476.html.