In a dramatic show of support show of support for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) and LGBT-Inclusive comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), members of the LGBT Equality Caucus – a caucus of U.S. Representatives – sent a letter to President Obama and Senate and House leadership.

A huge majority of the caucus– sixty of its eighty-two members – signed on to the letter.

The letter urgently calls for comprehensive immigration reform and demands inclusion of LGBT families who have historically been locked out of our immigration system.

The letter adds a critical new constituency in Congress pressing for comprehensive immigration reform, adding to voices of four other influential caucuses: the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC).

And in an impressive show of solidarity, the leaders of those four caucuses – Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-12), Mike Honda (D-CA-15), Barbara Lee, and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA-6), respectively – all signed the letter. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, head of CHC’s immigration task force, also signed on.

The letter is just one in a series of steps the LGBT Equality Caucus has taken to advocate for the Uniting American Families Act and LGBT binational families. The Caucus held a briefing on UAFA last fall featuring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY-28) and representatives of the three caucus co-chairs.

Congressional sign-on letters show a voting block of support for a specific policy and can have major influence over content of legislation. This letter, sent just as Senator Schumer considers introduction of comprehensive immigration reform, sends a strong demand for fairness for all families.

Immigration Equality commends the leader of the sign-on letter effort, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-2) and her terrific hard-working staff, along with the other five House members who spearheaded the effort. These are Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO-2) and Barney Frank (D-MA-4) who co-chair the LGBT Equality Caucus along with Baldwin; Rep. Nadler, lead sponsor of UAFA; Rep. Honda, lead sponsor of the Reuniting Families Act which includes UAFA; and Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL-5), an emerging champion of LGBT binational families.

Immigration Equality also commends the hard work of other organizations to promote the letter, including the Family Equality Council, People for the American Way, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Lambda Legal, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund (NGLTF).

A list of the U.S. Representatives who signed on to the letter is below. If your Representative signed on, please call or email their office to thank them. Our champions need to know we appreciate them standing up for all families!

Baldwin, Tammy WI-2
Polis, Jared CO-2
Frank, Barney MA-4
Honda, Mike CA-15
Nadler, Jerrold NY-8
Quigley, Mike IL-5
Abercrombie, Neil HI-1
Berkley, Shelley NV-1
Berman, Howard CA-28
Blumenauer, Earl OR-3
Brady, Robert PA-1
Capps, Lois CA-23
Capuano, Michael MA-8
Carson, Andre IN-7
Chu, Judy CA-32
Clarke, Yvette NY-11
Davis, Susan CA-53
DeGette, Diana CO-1
Delahunt, William MA-10
Doyle, Mike PA-14
Ellison, Keith MN-5
Engel, Eliott NY-17
Filner, Bob CA-51
Grijalva, Raul AZ-7
Gutierrez, Luis IL-4
Hare, Phil IL-17
Harman, Jane CA-36
Hastings, Alcee FL-23
Hirono, Mazie HI-2
Holt, Rush NJ-12
Israel, Steve NY-2
Kennedy, Patrick RI-1
Kucinich, Dennis OH-10
Lee, Barbara CA-9
Lewis, John GA-5
Lowey, Nita NY-18
Maloney, Carolyn NY-14
Matsui, Doris CA-5
McDermott, Jim WA-7
McGovern, James MA-3
Moran, James VA-8
Norton, Eleanor Holmes DC
Pallone, Frank NJ-6
Pingree, Chellie ME-1
Rothman, Steve NJ-9
Sánchez, Linda CA-39
Schakowsky, Janice IL-9
Serrano, Jose NY-16
Sherman, Brad CA-27
Speier, Jackie CA-12
Stark, Pete CA-13
Towns, Edolphus NY-10
Tsongas, Niki MA-5
Velázquez, Nydia NY-12
Wasserman Schultz, Debbie FL-20
Waxman, Henry CA-30
Weiner, Anthony NY-9
Welch, Peter VT
Woolsey, Lynn CA-6
Wu, David OR-1