Think Immigration: Reflections on Pride Month and Ways to Welcome and Include

As Pride Month winds down, I wanted to discuss ways all of us can do better to model inclusion and support for our LGBTQ+ siblings. I hope that the ideas shared here help us all do a better job in our own lives, in our practices, with our employees and colleagues, within the AILA community, and—most importantly—with our clients.

This blog post was inspired by challenges faced by members of the gender non-conforming community at the AILA Annual Conference in San Diego. While the conference had a large contingent of queer lawyers and good CLE programming on LGBTQ+ issues, a familiar problem with identifying pronouns on conference badges occurred again. AILA has provided a means for members to place their pronouns on their profile, which then gets printed on the badges, but all of us in leadership at AILA have not done enough to create enough awareness around adding pronouns to one’s AILA profile so they can be printed on a badge automatically. AILA did bring stickers to affix to badges, but those were not always available, particularly early in the conference. AILA staff responded quickly when notified of that issue and committed to making members more aware of the pronoun options available at conference registration, as well as how to add pronouns to their badges before future conferences.

I hope to explain why this is an important issue for AILA to address. Having conference badges that identify pronouns a person uses (not a preference, but a use, a fact) demonstrates that the sponsoring organization takes seriously a concern that bedevils our gender non-conforming colleagues every day of their lives. There is a unique feeling of non-personhood that comes along with being misgendered. As a trans woman, I do not expect my cisgender siblings to understand the depths of this feeling. But, I do expect my colleagues to hear me when I say that it is hurtful. As I know my colleagues to be well-intentioned and kind people, I know that they want to do the right thing. Placing pronouns on badges in a visible way helps prevent misgendering.

That’s not all. The effect is much more profound to the gender non-conforming person. It says to that person that an organization that they care deeply about, AILA, cares just as deeply for them. That it cares enough to take this extra step to demonstrate that care and thought for queer people in a visible way. It also signals to the cisgender community that AILA is a place that welcomes queer and gender non-confirming people, and those that do not welcome us are swimming against the tide of the organization, and of history.

I am also going to advocate that every AILA member should make an individual effort to get their pronouns identified on their conference badges and in their practices. At our firm, we have pronouns in our email signatures, bios, zoom screen names, business cards, and just about any other place we can think of. Everyone has this. Not just the LGBTQ+ folks. Everyone. Having everyone identify their pronouns says that this is not just “a queer thing,” but a human thing. All of us have the right to be seen for who we are and having those who have never felt the sting of misgendering identify their pronouns sends a strong statement of inclusion. It also distributes the burden of moving our society towards greater acceptance of trans people from the exclusive domain of trans people and shows that we all have a role to play in service of liberation.

As immigration lawyers, we understand that the LGBTQ+ community, and particularly, the trans community, is under attack by the current administration and its allies in unprecedented and horrifying ways. Like the immigrant community, the trans community has borne the full force of the fury and hate unleashed by the administration. Immigration lawyers should get this. Instinctively.

We are all AILA, and each of us plays a role in creating a welcoming and inclusive community. So, are you ready to take this small step, which is, collectively, a giant leap? Getting pronouns on your conference badge is as simple as updating the demographics page of your AILA profile or grabbing a sticker at registration. Once you've done that, consider where else you can include your pronouns, whether in your email signature, virtual meeting profile, or other professional spaces. Small actions, taken together, have a big impact in creating an environment where every member feels seen, respected, and welcome.