Listening to President Obama speak yesterday on the need for comprehensive immigration reform in San Francisco’s Chinatown made me realize how my own relationship as an immigrant in this country has come full circle. I grew up in the small border town of McAllen, Texas, located in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. […]

A new report released today shows that LGBTQ workers of color are among the most disadvantaged in the country, facing high rates of unemployment and poverty due to workplace discrimination, unequal job benefits and taxation, and unsafe and under-resourced U.S. schools. The report—A Broken Bargain for LGBTQ Workers of Color—examines how LGBTQ workers of color […]

Yesterday, President Obama brought together a coalition of immigration reform advocates—including NCLR—and gave his first address on immigration reform since Congress finally ended the government shutdownand cleared the way to reengage with the rest of its legislative agenda. His message to Congress on this crucial issue was simple and clear: “It’s time,” he declared to […]

I never thought that in my lifetime I would live to see the incredible progress the LGBTQ movement has experienced in just the last few months. So many have been working for decades to reach this moment, but even for those of us doing this work, the gains of the past year have been breathtaking. […]

As Congress considers overhauling and repairing our broken immigration system, NCLR has been committed to identifying areas where LGBTQ immigrants are especially vulnerable and working to ensure those issues are addressed. Detention facilities and standards for transgender detainees is one such area of heightened vulnerability. Immigrants in the U.S. are detained in detention facilities for […]

This week, the White House hosted a historic roundtable discussion on the issues facing bisexual people. In the first-of-its-kind meeting, administration officials gathered activists and community members to explore the many policy concerns that are particularly relevant to bisexual individuals. Bisexuals—the “B” in LGBT—face unique issues that are sometimes overlooked in LGBTQ advocacy efforts. Bisexuality […]

Two years ago today, on September 20, 2011, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was officially repealed. The discriminatory and stigmatizing 1994 policy that barred lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers from serving openly in the military has had a damaging impact on the strength of the armed forces during one of the most dangerous military times in […]

I have been lucky enough to have had many mentors who led by modeling the adage “we are all in this together.” At a time of such tremendous gains for the LGBTQ community in this country, I am mindful every day of the importance of that mindset. There is an often unseen—but nevertheless unbreakable—link between […]

By the time all of my peers were enrolling in driver education classes and mastering the rules of the road, I had already mastered the rules of how to go unnoticed. No jaywalking. No riding my bicycle without a helmet. And absolutely no mentioning my status as an undocumented immigrant to anyone. I was to […]

It’s been an incredible few weeks. President Obama made history last month when he announced his plan to bring humanity and decency to our nation’s immigration policy, and underscored the urgency of coming together to bring major reform now. The President’s speech outlined his vision for a clear path toward citizenship that includes a streamlined […]

I saw President Obama today. I am in Las Vegas, where the President came to unveil his proposal for overhauling our inhumane and frequently—and justly—criticized immigration system. So of course, I was joined by hundreds of others, and with millions of others who watched online and on TV, but still, I saw the President today. […]

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) was outraged by the recently introduced “Birthright Citizenship Act of 2013,” discriminatory legislation that seeks to obliterate the 14th Amendment by denying birthright citizenship to the children of some immigrant parents. This legislation, which has thus far garnered little attention or support, comes amidst momentum for Congress to […]

Senator Daniel Inouye, one of the LGBTQ movement’s strongest congressional allies, passed away Monday after being admitted to the hospital for respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Sen. Inouye was the most senior member of the U.S. Senate, a nine-term Senator, a Medal of Honor Recipient, and the first Japanese-American to serve in […]

The President’s announcement that he supports marriage equality has encouraged other high- profile leaders and organizations to express their support for marriage equality, most notably the NAACP, which decided in a near-unanimous vote to pass a resolution officially supporting marriage equality. The President also adds his voice to a growing chorus of people of faith […]

I am elated beyond words! President Obama has been re-elected. Marriage equality prevailed in ALL four states—Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington—that faced ballot measures. AND Tammy Baldwin is now Senator Baldwin, the first out LGBTQ person voted into the U.S. Senate. So many victories, including the Iowa Supreme Court justice who supported marriage keeping his […]

As was widely expected, the Supreme Court today declined to take any action on three important cases involving the rights of same-sex couples, including the challenge to California’ Proposition 8 and one of several challenges to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  (See my Huffington Post blog post for a preview of the Court’s […]

On Friday September 21, the National Center for Lesbian Rights attended a symposium at the Georgetown University Law Center on “Contraception and Conscience: A Symposium on Religious Liberty, Women’s Health, and the HHS Rule on Provision of Birth Control Coverage for Employees.” Anti-choice politicians and groups have tried to generate controversy around the contraception provisions […]

Last week, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) took a major step towards ensuring family equality for its federal employees. In the Administration’s continued efforts to provide equal benefits to LGBTQ federal employees, OPM proposed a rule that will extend important benefits to children of same-sex couples. OPM’s proposed rule will allow federal employees […]

NCLR Asylum & Immigration Project Director For the first time since President Obama’s momentous announcement that undocumented youth will now be protected from deportation and granted work permits, the Department of Homeland Security has shed more light on the program’s implementation. This “deferred action” policy will take away some of the fear of deportation for […]

Today, in a courageous and much needed policy shift, the Obama administration announced that it will stop all deportations of undocumented young people who were brought  to the United States  as children and have remained in the country for at least five continuous years, are under the age of 30, have either obtained a high […]