www.ambiente.us SEPTEMBER / SEPTIEMBRE 2008
A Washington Warrior Takes on the Battle of the Double-Edged Sword
by Steve Ralls
“You really pick ‘em!,” one colleague
exclaimed when Julie Kruse asked them
to be a reference for new job with
Immigration Equality, the national
organization working to keep
bi-national couples together and
defeat discriminatory practices against
HIV+ immigrants. But Kruse, no stranger
to uphill legislative battles, was
undeterred.
Fresh off of her work helping to
coordinate the first Congressional
hearings on the federal “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual military personnel, Kruse put down one sword, and
picked up a double-edged one: She’s now tackling two of the toughest legislative issues in
America, immigration and LGBT rights.
“I have always worked for niche organizations that are issue area experts and that are small, nimble
and flexible,” she says. “These are the organizations that have credibility, and can turn on a dime
and seize opportunities for victory. Immigration Equality is just such an organization; it has great
clarity of goals, strategy and passion. [Executive director] Rachel Tiven and [former policy
advocate] Adam Francouer have built a visionary and effective policy strategy. I’m honored to be
able to stand on their shoulders, and continue to build the fight.”
Immigration Equality already has one significant victory under its belt. Earlier this year, the
organization led the charge to repeal the HIV travel and immigration ban, a cause championed by
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) in the Senate, and recently signed into law by President Bush. As the
organization now works to convince federal agencies to implement the change in law, attorneys
also continue their groundbreaking work on asylum cases, helping LGBT immigrants find an escape
from hostile climates in their home countries.
“The reason Immigration Equality has so much credibility is because of our outstanding legal
services,” Kruse told Ambiente. “Our legal director, Victoria Neilson, literally wrote the book on
asylum for HIV-positive, transgender and lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The fact that we speak
to clients every day means that our policy agenda is rooted in the real needs of LGBT and HIV-
positive immigrants and their families.”
Neither LGBT rights nor immigration policy are new areas for Kruse, who spent many years in Chicago
doing community organizing, teaching English to immigrants and working on cultural exchange
programs between immigrant, African-American and Native American communities in the Windy
City. Most recently, she served as interim director of legislative affairs for Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network, convincing lawmakers to topple the ban on open service and pass legislation
welcoming gay Americans into the armed forces.
“I love challenges and battles,” she says. “I worked to get more women into construction jobs; when
affirmative action in construction was created in 1978, women were 3% of the workers . . . today,
they’re still 3% of the workers. And I worked for low-income and immigrant taxpayers on Capitol Hill,
a place where thousands of lobbyists lobby about taxes for corporations and wealthy folks.”
Many of the clients Immigration Equality serves today also face economic hardship – an often
overlooked obstacle in their quest to find a permanent home in the United States.
“One thing that D.C. lawmakers don’t understand, as they try to add hoops to jump through and fines
and costs and travel and on and on to the process of becoming a legal resident, is that most
working folks just can’t afford it,” Kruse says. “And that’s imply now what we’re about as a nation.”
Kruse’s own story is one built upon the possibility of the American dream. Her grandmothers were
from Germany and Mexico, and her father was a refugee from Nazi Germany – an “enemy alien” who
went on to receive a full scholarship to Harvard from Pepsi. And her step-children, Elvin and Arelys,
are Puetro Rican. “They’re grown now,” she says, “but they keep me real.”
Those stories have always inspired Kruse to tell the stories of individuals who are impacted by the
issues she’s advocating in Washington. During her time with SLDN, she helped to publicize the
stories of men and women discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and while in Chicago, she urged
the public to listen to the stories of hard-working immigrants who were being marginalized by their
adopted communities.
“I focused a lot on bringing the stories the voices and stories of immigrant families to D.C.,” she
recounted to Ambiente. “I’m thrilled to be able to do that at Immigration Equality again. We have
legal services, so we know what clients are really experiencing, and we have a huge constituent
base of bi-national couples and families who are completely frustrated with having to choose
between their families and their country because they can’t sponsor their partners and their kids.”
Those stories, which Immigration Equality is uniquely suited to tell, are the driving force behind the
group’s work to pass the Uniting American Families Act, which would level the playing field for bi-
national, same-sex couples and apply immigration law to them just as it pertains to heterosexual
couples. The legislation just picked up its 100th co-sponsor in the House.
“My philosophy of advocacy is bringing the voices of people impacted by policies to Congress and
the administration,” she says.
And she’s not afraid of battling that double-edged sword which, she says, is really about the
common thread that runs through all of her passions and work: The idea and ideal of full citizenship
for those who work hard and play by the rules.
“Since LGBT people are prohibited from participating fully in the rights and responsibilities Americans
enjoy – the ability to get married, serve in the military, work without fear of discrimination, etc. – I
feel we are not really full citizens,” she says. “That is something LGBT people have in common with
many hard-working immigrants and their family members who contribute to our society, pay taxes
and value family and community, yet are denied full participation in society.”
For more information on Immigration Equality’s work, visit www.immigrationequality.org.
Copyright © SoVo.com & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
A Washington Warrior Takes on the Battle of the Double-Edged Sword
by Steve Ralls
“You really pick ‘em!,” one colleague
exclaimed when Julie Kruse asked them
to be a reference for new job with
Immigration Equality, the national
organization working to keep
bi-national couples together and
defeat discriminatory practices against
HIV+ immigrants. But Kruse, no stranger
to uphill legislative battles, was
undeterred.
Fresh off of her work helping to
coordinate the first Congressional
hearings on the federal “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual military personnel, Kruse put down one sword, and
picked up a double-edged one: She’s now tackling two of the toughest legislative issues in
America, immigration and LGBT rights.
“I have always worked for niche organizations that are issue area experts and that are small, nimble
and flexible,” she says. “These are the organizations that have credibility, and can turn on a dime
and seize opportunities for victory. Immigration Equality is just such an organization; it has great
clarity of goals, strategy and passion. [Executive director] Rachel Tiven and [former policy
advocate] Adam Francouer have built a visionary and effective policy strategy. I’m honored to be
able to stand on their shoulders, and continue to build the fight.”
Immigration Equality already has one significant victory under its belt. Earlier this year, the
organization led the charge to repeal the HIV travel and immigration ban, a cause championed by
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) in the Senate, and recently signed into law by President Bush. As the
organization now works to convince federal agencies to implement the change in law, attorneys
also continue their groundbreaking work on asylum cases, helping LGBT immigrants find an escape
from hostile climates in their home countries.
“The reason Immigration Equality has so much credibility is because of our outstanding legal
services,” Kruse told Ambiente. “Our legal director, Victoria Neilson, literally wrote the book on
asylum for HIV-positive, transgender and lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The fact that we speak
to clients every day means that our policy agenda is rooted in the real needs of LGBT and HIV-
positive immigrants and their families.”
Neither LGBT rights nor immigration policy are new areas for Kruse, who spent many years in Chicago
doing community organizing, teaching English to immigrants and working on cultural exchange
programs between immigrant, African-American and Native American communities in the Windy
City. Most recently, she served as interim director of legislative affairs for Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network, convincing lawmakers to topple the ban on open service and pass legislation
welcoming gay Americans into the armed forces.
“I love challenges and battles,” she says. “I worked to get more women into construction jobs; when
affirmative action in construction was created in 1978, women were 3% of the workers . . . today,
they’re still 3% of the workers. And I worked for low-income and immigrant taxpayers on Capitol Hill,
a place where thousands of lobbyists lobby about taxes for corporations and wealthy folks.”
Many of the clients Immigration Equality serves today also face economic hardship – an often
overlooked obstacle in their quest to find a permanent home in the United States.
“One thing that D.C. lawmakers don’t understand, as they try to add hoops to jump through and fines
and costs and travel and on and on to the process of becoming a legal resident, is that most
working folks just can’t afford it,” Kruse says. “And that’s imply now what we’re about as a nation.”
Kruse’s own story is one built upon the possibility of the American dream. Her grandmothers were
from Germany and Mexico, and her father was a refugee from Nazi Germany – an “enemy alien” who
went on to receive a full scholarship to Harvard from Pepsi. And her step-children, Elvin and Arelys,
are Puetro Rican. “They’re grown now,” she says, “but they keep me real.”
Those stories have always inspired Kruse to tell the stories of individuals who are impacted by the
issues she’s advocating in Washington. During her time with SLDN, she helped to publicize the
stories of men and women discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and while in Chicago, she urged
the public to listen to the stories of hard-working immigrants who were being marginalized by their
adopted communities.
“I focused a lot on bringing the stories the voices and stories of immigrant families to D.C.,” she
recounted to Ambiente. “I’m thrilled to be able to do that at Immigration Equality again. We have
legal services, so we know what clients are really experiencing, and we have a huge constituent
base of bi-national couples and families who are completely frustrated with having to choose
between their families and their country because they can’t sponsor their partners and their kids.”
Those stories, which Immigration Equality is uniquely suited to tell, are the driving force behind the
group’s work to pass the Uniting American Families Act, which would level the playing field for bi-
national, same-sex couples and apply immigration law to them just as it pertains to heterosexual
couples. The legislation just picked up its 100th co-sponsor in the House.
“My philosophy of advocacy is bringing the voices of people impacted by policies to Congress and
the administration,” she says.
And she’s not afraid of battling that double-edged sword which, she says, is really about the
common thread that runs through all of her passions and work: The idea and ideal of full citizenship
for those who work hard and play by the rules.
“Since LGBT people are prohibited from participating fully in the rights and responsibilities Americans
enjoy – the ability to get married, serve in the military, work without fear of discrimination, etc. – I
feel we are not really full citizens,” she says. “That is something LGBT people have in common with
many hard-working immigrants and their family members who contribute to our society, pay taxes
and value family and community, yet are denied full participation in society.”
For more information on Immigration Equality’s work, visit www.immigrationequality.org.
Copyright © SoVo.com & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
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