Gay immigrants put the I before the G

FOR UNDOCUMENTED gay immigrants trying to establish lives in America, xenophobia and homophobia have nothing on the dreaded "no match" letters. The Social Security Administration memos, which notify employers of workers whose W-2 forms don't correspond with information in the agency's database, are of primary concern to immigrants, says Tania Unzueta, executive producer of the LGBT radio program Homofre-cuencia.

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Unzueta, a Mexico-born lesbian whose parents immigrated to the United States illegally when she was a girl, adds that queer immigrants are turning to unions and mainstream labor organizations for help with the letters, which give employers 90 days to resolve recorded discrepancies and file corrected documents for the employees in question.

"LGBTQ organizations have no idea these letters exist," Unzueta says. "They have no idea how to fight these letters."

While the SSA has sent such memos to employers for years, a new Department of Homeland Security regulation was due to go into effect in September 2007 whereby "no match" letters could be used as evidence that employers who failed to act on them had "constructive knowledge" that workers were undocumented. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the new regulation in October after groups including the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations filed a lawsuit to block its implementation. Still, Unzueta maintains employers have fired immigrants in response to such letters without attempting to resolve identity issues.

Activists say LGBT immigrants turn to organized labor for help with "no match" letters and other issues because many of them are closeted. Gay immigrants are often unwilling to come out due to cultural and familial considerations, says Alberto Garcia, executive board member of Pride at Work, the LGBT arm of the AFL-CIO. "They go to labor organizations because they don't have to divulge they're gay."

The unions' focus on workers' rights contrasts with the immigrant-related work of the Human Rights Campaign and other national gay organizations, which have focused on passing the Uniting American Families Act, a bill that would allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their foreign-born partners for citizenship. The AFL-CIO and other mainstream labor groups have endorsed the bill, though their focus tends to be on better working conditions and livable wages.

As executive director of Immigration Equality, a national group advocating for LGBT equality in immigration law, Rachel B. Tiven appreciates the equal-opportunity battles the unions are taking on.

"Immigration and gay rights are the two most potent civil rights questions today, and labor unions successfully bridge both issues," Tiven says. "The cohesion of the labor movement is a model for LGBT activists."

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning