M.Q. is a native and citizen of Mexico. When M.Q. was a child, his father often accused him of being a “sissy,” and as he grew up, M.Q. was physically assaulted many times by his family, peers, and police because he was gay. One gang of teenage boys who had beaten M.Q. threatened him and told him that if they ever saw him again, they would kill him. In December 2003, M.Q. encountered them again and barely escaped alive.

M.Q. fled Mexico, and arrived in the U.S. in January 2004. Although he was afraid to return to Mexico, M.Q. went back once in May 2005 to see his eldest sister, who was dying. M.Q. re-entered the United States in August 2006, and applied for asylum with help of NCLR. After 2 years of waiting, M.Q. was granted asylum in September 2008.