As Congress prepares to take up the contentious issue of immigration reform, leaders of LGBT organizations are working to make sure that their constituents aren't left out of the debate. Gay-rights activists scored a significant victory last month when a legislative framework for comprehensive immigration reform—introduced by Sens. Charles Schumer and Robert Menendez as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, all Democrats—included a highly sought provision: It would allow for LGBT citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor their foreign national partners for U.S. residency.
A prominent voice in the immigration debate belongs to 16 year-old Immigration Equality, a New York- and Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that works on behalf of LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants. And a prominent voice within Immigration Equality belongs to Illinois native Julie Kruse, the organization's policy director. Kruse recently talked with Windy City Times about her background—which includes a significant amount of time spent organizing in Chicago—and the work that Immigration Equality has done on the federal-policy level.
Kruse—who, as policy director, devotes much of her time to congressional lobbying—was hired by Immigration Equality in 2008 to open an office in Washington, D.C., after the organization "decided that we really needed to increase our presence in Washington," she said. The D.C. office now employs four full-time staff members, with plans to hire a fifth. In addition to advocacy, Immigration Equality does case work: Among other things, the organization maintains a pro bono asylum project for LGBT and HIV-positive asylum-seekers, and provides technical assistance to attorneys working on related issues.
Kruse came to the organization with a long background in activism behind her. After obtaining a master's degree in education from Northwestern University, she was involved with Chicago-based social-justice groups, including, she said, community organizations in Humboldt Park and Pilsen, Chicago Women in Trades and the Center for Economic Progress, where she was Director of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships. Kruse also served on the Illinois Governor's Commission on the Status of Women.
"I really do feel my work here connects with my work back there," Kruse said. "I learned everything I've learned in Chicago." Though she lives in Washington, D.C., Kruse said, she visits Chicago often: it's where her partner lives.
Prior to joining Immigration Equality, Kruse did a stint as Interim Director of Legislative Affairs at Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which works to end the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. At SLDN, Kruse said, "I just got really excited about federal lobbying and the impact that could have."
Throughout the course of her political education, Kruse said, she became convinced of the importance of political lobbying. "You can't create any social change without policy change," she said.
Ongoing lobbying efforts by Immigration Equality, as well as other LGBT organizations, were apparent earlier this year when one of the organization's major political goals was achieved: After two decades, a ban on immigration to the United States by HIV-positive people was lifted. Though the initial decision to change the rule had been signaled two years earlier by then-President George W. Bush, the full repeal of the ban depended on regulatory changes finally enacted by President Barack Obama.
With partner organizations, Immigration Equality has also lobbied for the inclusion of same-sex binational couples in any comprehensive immigration reform package considered by Congress. LGBT groups want to see provisions for same-sex partners to be able to sponsor one another for U.S. citizenship, an option currently available only married opposite-sex couples. The centerpiece of this legislative push has been the Uniting American Families Act ( UAFA ) , provisions of which were recently included in the immigration reform framework set forth by the Sens. Schumer, Menendez, and Reid.
Kruse noted that U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has also been a vocal supporter of LGBT-inclusive immigration reform.
Windy City Times last reported on this issue in December 2009, when U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, who represents Illinois' 4th Congressional District, introduced an immigration-reform bill that did not include provisions for same sex couples, as many immigration and LGBT activists had hoped. According to a recent press release by Immigration Equality, an estimated 36,000 same-sex binational couples face "imminent separation or exile" because of current immigration law.
While Kruse said that she was "disappointed" with that bill, she called the new Senate framework a "huge victory," particularly because it bears the imprimatur of the Senate Democratic leadership.
"It's extremely exciting that for the first time ever, our community has been included in a comprehensive immigration-reform bill," Kruse said. "It's a complete game-changer. We've gone from [ being ] supplicants to being included."
Kruse said that Immigration Equality's goal has shifted from working to ensure inclusion in the bill to working to ensure that LGBT people aren't, again, stripped out of it. "Now that we've succeeded in getting over that first hump," she said, "we've got to defend that victory."
