Meet The Undocuqueers: Gay Rights Movement Turns To Immigration

One of the most pressing causes in the gay rights movement is crossing over into the immigration debate, where activists are pushing for equal treatment of same sex couples in a comprehensive reform bill. A report released Friday by the Williams Institute at UCLA calculated that out of the 11 million undocumented immigrants estimated to be America today, 267,000 adults identify as LGBT. Another 637,000 LGBT adults were legal immigrants. Gary Gates, a scholar at the Williams Institute, said that the number was a conservative estimate based on cross-referencing survey data on undocumented immigrants, sexual orientation, along with data on married same sex couples. Gates’ remarks came at an event in Washington, D.C., debuting the finding that was hosted by the liberal Center for American Progress.