Rebultanthe only daughter in the Rebultan familyhas been denied permission to join her family because she is a lesbian. In the words of her family "she is not a thief. a murderer. a prostitute. (or) a child molester." She has no police record. But under current U.S. immigration law. her sexual orientation has caused her to be denied entry to the United States under a provision which equates homosexuality with "psychopathic personality" and "mental defect"--designations no longer medically valid when applied to homosexuals. according to the American Psychiatric Society. the American Psychological Association. and the American Public Health Association. Even the U.S. Public Health Service has requested that Immigration authorities stop asking them to decide if an alien is homosexual. The agency says homosexuality is not a medical condition. So. while present medical opinion keeps pace with the times. U.S. immigration law remains an anachronism. sadly and often brutally out of touch with reality. INS says the fault lies with the Congress. and only through legislative action can any part of immigration eligibility requirements be changed. There is much truth in that view. But I wonder why. in the face of changing definitions that directly affect eligibility requirements for aliens. the INS fails to inform and advise the Congress when INS statutes have become throwbacks to another age. reflecting neither current medical opinion (in the case of homosexual admissions) or the compassion that lies at the very heart of our system of justice.
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Immigration immigration