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LGBT Coalition for Immigration Reform Stands in Solidarity With Fast for Families

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December 5, 2013
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Lambda Legal and other national LGBT organizations applaud the strength and courage of the men and women who have been fasting for more than 20 days in Washington, D.C., to highlight the need for comprehensive immigration reform. 

The LGBT community is committed to passing compassionate reform that will provide a roadmap for citizenship for the 11 million undocumented men, women and children living in our country, including at least 267,000 LGBT undocumented immigrants.

Every day Congress fails to reform our broken immigration system, 1,100 families are torn apart. As a nation, we pride ourselves on keeping families united, and our immigration policies should reflect our commitment to keep families together — all families.

Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Anglican bishop and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, has visited with the Fasters every evening since last Friday and led them in prayer. He says:

The Fast for Families experience is inspiring, courageous and holy. What an honor to stand with them as they fast on behalf of those who want to become contributing American citizens but are denied by the House of Representatives' refusal to bring Immigration Reform to a vote. As LGBT people, and from our own experiences, we recognize injustice when we see it. And when human beings are treated unjustly, we all must rise up together in solidarity with them.

In addition to Lambda Legal, coalition partners include the Center for American Progress, Equality Federation, GetEQUAL, GLAAD, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, and United We Dream’s Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project.