The event is scheduled for 1 p.m.outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building.
BOSTON — Gay-rights activists and immigration-reform advocates are planning a press conference Wednesday outside the Boston office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to call on the U.S. Senate to support an immigration reform package that includes protections for gay immigrants.
The event is scheduled for 1 p.m.outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building.
The group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer activists (LGBTQ), which includes some members who are also immigrants, is calling on the members of the Senate's "Gang of Eight" to introduce LGBTQ-inclusive legislation when they propose their immigration reform bill next week.
Among the speakers will be Sasha Kaufmann of GetEQUAL Massachusetts; Gerry Scoppettuolo of Stonewall Warriors; and Mario Rodas of Student Immigrant Movement and Human Rights Campaign.
The event will coincide with a larger immigration rally planned for Washington and other parts of the country on Wednesday.
"If comprehensive immigration reform is to truly be comprehensive, it is essential that the needs of the LGBTQ community not be left out of the legislation," said Cathy Kristofferson, co-lead organizer for GetEQUAL Massachusetts, in a prepared statement released Tuesday night.
"In 2009, Sen. Chuck Schumer promised support for binational couples, yet that support – along with a clear pathway to citizenship for the estimated 267,000 LGBT undocumented immigrants, asylum for victims of homophobia abroad, and harsh detention conditions – still seem to be missing from the Gang of 8's offering," she said.