SAN FRANCISCO MOVES TO PROTECT UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS WITH US CITIZENS

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city’s legislative body, is preparing to pass a law that would establish a “City of Refuge” for undocumented immigrants who are in same-sex relationships with US citizens.  Specifically, the law would bar city employees from assisting federal authorities in efforts to deport such people.

Leslie Katz, the sponsor of the legislation, proposed it because US immigration laws deny same-sex partners the right to immigrate, even though “the fundamental principle of immigration law is family unification.”  Because US law does not allow same-sex marriages, such couples do not have the rights a bi-national heterosexual couple has, where a US citizen spouse can petition for permanent residence for their spouse.  The law has the support of all 11 members of the Board of Supervisors.

Thirteen countries allow same-sex partners to immigrate through a citizen spouse.  Most Western European countries allow it, as do many English speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.  There are efforts to change USpolicy, including a bill to be proposed later this month by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) that would give same-sex couples the same immigration rights as heterosexual couples. 

San Francisco has adopted similar laws in the past.  A law passed in 1989 barred city employees from assisting the INS in the deportation of any undocumented person.  The law was amended in 1993, after the state threatened to withdraw funding for criminal justice programs, to allow city law enforcement officials to notify the INS when they have custody of a felon they believe does not have authorization to be in the US.