(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Jamie Raskin joined his fellow Congressional Equality Caucus colleagues in sending  a letter demanding the Trump Administration halt its discriminatory interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The letter comes after the Department of State quietly changed its application of the INA to deny citizenship to children born to U.S. Citizens outside of the country through assisted reproductive practices.

“Welcoming a new child into a family should be a time of joy and excitement, but instead it is being met by your Department treating these couples differently than their different-sex counterparts,” the members wrote. “The Department Policy harms same-sex couples and their families, preventing them from enjoying the full range of rights to which they are entitled. We urge you to promptly change your policy so that no more families endure its discriminatory effects.”

The letter is signed by 80 members of the U.S. House of Representatives including all of the Co-Chairs of the Equality Caucus and LGBTQ+ members of the House. Immigration and Equality, the country’s leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization voiced support for the Congressional Members’ letter to the Department of State. 

“It is disgraceful that the U.S. State Department refuses to treat same-sex couples and their families equally under the law," said Aaron C. Morris, Executive Director of Immigration Equality." Congress and the courts made clear that married U.S. citizens may pass on U.S. citizenship to their children regardless of whether or not they have a biological relationship. However, when a same-sex couple goes to a U.S. consulate abroad to apply for their child’s passport, they are subjected to invasive questioning and DNA testing to prove they are biologically related. The policy disenfranchises children born to same-sex parents and places an unlawful burden on their families. The State Department must change this policy immediately."

The full letter is available here.

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