FILIPINO TRANSSEXUAL FAMILY DENIED RIGHT TO REMAIN IN THE U.S

For Immediate Release
Contact: Annie Sayo, EMPAQ, 408-297-1977
December 7, 2004

FILIPINO TRANSSEXUAL FAMILY DENIED RIGHT TO REMAIN IN THE U.S.

EMPAQ CALLS TO STOP DEPORTATION AND SEPARATION OF FAMILY!

On Monday, November 18, 2004, Jiffy Javanella and transsexual wife Donita Ganzon, a Filipino couple in Los Angeles, filed a law suit against the US government after husband Javanella was denied his green card because the Department of Homeland Security does not recognize his wife Donita’s sex change operation. The couple is not challenging the US government in court over the immigration status of married transsexuals. The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was used by US officials to refuse their marital status. “This is an infringement on a couple’s right to be together and on non-straight relationships,” says Annie Sayo, member of Embracing the Movement of Pinays And Queers (EMPAQ).

Donita Ganzon was granted citizenship in 1987, six years after her sex change operation. The Department of Homeland Security wrote Javanella a letter that stated, “currently no federal statute or regulation addresses specifically the question whether someone born a man or a woman can surgically change his or her sex.” Homeland Security added that BCIS will not allow the recognition of change of sex in order for a marriage between two persons born of the same sex to be considered legitimate. EMPAQ is currently working side by side with Ganzon and Javanella. After speaking with the couple, Ganzon added, “Over twenty-five years I have been living as a female. Sex is what is on the outside and gender is what’s embedded inside. Spiritually, psychologically, emotionally and intellectually, I am more than a woman.”

Unfortunately, this is not the only case. There were two other cases nationwide that filed before the Board of Appeals and both immigrant cases were denied because of a transsexual marriage.

“I am outraged because it is not even stated that sexual orientation is even part of the green card process. It should not matter,” states Eloise Baraan, co-chair of EMPAQ. Whether or not a couple is a US citizen, the US immigration policy does not allow gays, lesbians, transsexuals or transgenders to sponsor each other for immigration.

EMPAQ calls for all sectors in our communities to support all Filipino families facing deportation, stop the racist and heterosexist Homeland Security from disrupting the lives of innocent people and secure our civil liberties that mean most to us at a time of international insecurity.

EMPAQ (Embracing the Movement of Pinays And Queers)
525 W. Alma Ave
San Jose, CA 95125
408-297-1977