This story caught me by surprise and I don’t like it…

Put a Halt to HALT

By Connie Utada on 07/21/2011 @ 11:57 AM

“Please join the Action Fund — and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren — on Capitol Hill next Tuesday in a show of support for our families.

The House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday, July 26th at 1:30pm in an attempt to roll back the important progress we’ve made toward keeping our families together. Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) has introduced legislation, known as the Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act (HALT), to eliminate ICE’s ability to use discretion in deciding who should be targeted for deportation. Smith’s bill follows the agency’s June memo instructing ICE officials to take immigrants’ American families and spouses into consideration when deciding who is a priority for removal from the United States.

If successful, Congressman Smith’s bill would strip away any possible discretionary relief for LGBT immigrant families facing separation.

Congresswoman Lofgren, who has been a steadfast ally of our families, is prepared to take on Smith’s discriminatory crusade during Tuesday’s hearing … but we need to show up and provide visible support for her advocacy on behalf of our families.

Please join us on Tuesday, July 26th at 1:30pm in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Our families’ presence will send a strong message to Congress to not roll back relief for immigrants and their loved ones. If you’re able to join us, please RSVP here and bring a friend with you, too.

Thank you for standing with us. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.”

Well, I can’t go to DC on Tuesday – I can’t even afford to go to New York City and help with my own photo shoot for the cause. But if you can go to Washington, D.C. or if you are already there – please show up to make a statement that the gains we have made CANNOT be undone.

Stand with Rep. Lofgren and our allies. Stand with Immigration Equality Action Fund. Help me and my wife. Help the folks you read about in my book, Torn Apart: United by Love, Divided by Law. Help the folks Immigration Equality is helping. Help the folks Out4Immigration is fighting for. Help the folks that Love Exiles Foundation has helped when they are forced to leave the country instead of their spouses. Help keep the work that Stop the Deportations and so many groups have assisted with to keep LGBT binational families together, where they want to be.

Help! Please!

Reminder – you can follow me on twitter    @tornapartbook