As led by moderator John Taylor (member of Equality Forum's National Board of Governors), this year's immigration panel differed from other panels in this year's Equality Forum due to the fact that because the subject of immigration is vast, the audience was used to figure out specific questions throughout the duration of the panel. "Since September 11th, the position of immigrants in this country has become all the more precarious and scary," Taylor stated, kicking off conversation surrounding the current environment of immigration and its effect on the gay community.

Taylor cited two case studies furnished by the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force to prove his statement. First, there is the case of an HIV-positive psychologist from Germany who has been employed on a non-immigrant work visa for approximately 19 years. Her visa has recently expired and faces the threat of deportation, not only because of her immigrant status, but because of her HIV status. Secondly, there is the case of a 24-year old Indonesian who feared for his life back home (due to living in a country where gays are often persecuted for homosexuality), where he was routinely abused both verbally and physically. Because it is difficult for Indonesians to acquire work visas to other countries, he went through a three-year training course to work on cruise ship to achieve freedom. Last year, the Department of Justice issued regulations to require all persons from all countries of Muslim descent to register with Immigration Services. Indonesia was on this list. After complying with regulation, the immigration officer placed him in a detention center, where he resides currently.

Professor Fernando Chang Muy, who teaches at the School of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, continued the discussion by surveying the audience, consisting mostly of bi-national couples, for their concerns and questions regarding specific immigration laws. He stated that there are "24 different ways to acquire a short-term visa" and "16 different ways" to obtain a green card. He illustrated various ways, such as being a student (in which you could go until your schooling is complete, however long that takes), working for a company where there is a void left unfulfilled by American workers, and applying for asylum from one's country of origin for reasons revolving around five key areas: race, religion, social group, nationality, and political stance. He also stated that there are a number of reasons that the government could keep someone from entering or staying in the country, such as HIV status, threat of terrorism, lack of wealth, among others.

Pradeep Singla, Legal Director for the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force, gave an overview of the organization's history, which was founded in 1994. He went further to explain that in many cases, gays file for asylum to avoid being sent back to their native country. However, "asylum must be applied for within a year of entering the U.S.," which can be troublesome for many reasons. Essentially, one must come out of the closet in a foreign land, which can be scary since a revealing of this identity has proven as grounds for fear in their native land. Singla pointed to how long it takes an American to come out, and stated that a foreigner must do so in a much shorter timeframe and additionally complete much paperwork in order to stay in the country.

Michael Proctor, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, explained that our neighbor to the north Canada already allows citizenship for same-sex couples and openly recruits many gay couples to come to Canada because there is a need for good workers there. This is known as the Permanent Partners Program. Proctor pleaded for immigrants to seek legal help for situations, including travel plans, which has changed dramatically for immigrants since September 11 - even when traveling within the United States and not just across country lines. Proctor also asked the audience to lobby their Congressmen to pass a current bill under consideration, which would expedite a similar permanent partners program in the United States.

More of Fred Shelley's writings can be found at www.haydenism.com.