Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, deputy managing director of United We Dream, issued the following statement,
“Indiana’s new law creates a dangerous precedent for the LGBTQ community. It attempts to undermine the vast victories and progress the community has made in its struggle for equality. More than 267,000 undocumented immigrants identify as LGBTQ, and Indiana’s law is a dangerous attack that will make our community even more vulnerable to discrimination and unjust treatment.
“This move is only the latest in a pattern of steps that Indiana has taken to make the state unwelcoming. Indiana has also signed on to the lawsuit in opposition to President Obama’s deferred action programs that will protect millions of immigrants from deportation and has a history of anti-immigrant legislation as well.”
Carlos Padilla, coordinator for the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, a programof United We Dream, also added,
“This law is an attempt to force LGBTQ people like myself back into the closet that must be denounced. As both an LGTBQ individual and a Dreamer, we’ve seen bad bills, like Arizona’s S.B. 1070, take root in one state only to be replicated across the country in an effort to criminalize and discriminate our communities.
“United We Dream stands in solidarity with the LGBTQ community in Indiana and across the country who continue fighting for a nation that welcomes any person regardless of immigration status, gender identity or sexual orientation.”
