Raised in Cuernavaca, Mexico, Valeria suffered years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse because of her gender identity. In 1994, Valeria was attacked, mutilated, and left to bleed to death. As soon as she was well enough to travel, Valeria left Mexico but suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and serious depression. With NCLR’s help, Valeria filed an application for asylum in 2005, which was granted in September 2007.

Irma is a Mexican transgender woman who has suffered a lifetime of loss, violence, and abuse. Irma is the eighth of ten children. From a very young age, Irma understood herself to be female. She socialized with girls and believed she would grow up to be a woman. She only started to doubt those beliefs when her family began to taunt her and physically abuse her. Throughout her life, Irma was targeted for persecution by people in her community.

Raul is a transgender man from Peru who endured verbal and physical attacks, isolation, and harassment on a daily basis. Despite the many obstacles that he faced in obtaining his education, he was admitted into a prestigious university where he pursued his professional degree. However, after all his efforts and struggles to succeed, the university refused to issue him the diploma he had earned due to his gender identity.

Because he was both a witness and a victim of police mistreatment in Mexico, Armando endured continued harassment, threats, violence, extortion, and robbery at the hands of a police officer and his friends. For years Armando endured the constant threats and violence against him.

L.W. and K.R. raised their child, A.W., together from the time that K.R. gave birth to him. After the couple split up, L.W. became the child’s sole caregiver. L.W. obtained a parentage judgment from a California court establishing that she is A.W.’s legal parent. L.W. is disabled and receives Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. A.W.’s application was initially denied because the Administration refused to recognize L.W. as his parent.

On July 24, 2002, Jorge Soto Vega filed for asylum based on persecution he suffered in Mexico because of his sexual orientation. As a child in Mexico, Soto Vega suffered abuse, harassment, and ridicule from family members and classmates because he was perceived to be gay. As a teenager, Soto Vega was severely beaten by officers of the Mexican police force upon suspicion that he was gay. The officers yelled derogatory slurs at Soto Vega as they threatened to kill him in order to “rid the streets of fags.” An immigration judge denied Soto Vega’s application for asylum, based on the judge’s view that Sota Vega does not “look gay.” The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed the immigration judge’s ruling. Lambda Legal filed a petition for review of the Board’s denial with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. NCLR and the ACLU filed an amicus brief on his behalf. On June 2, 2006, the Court granted the petition for review and remanded the case to the Board in order to allow the agency to determine, based on the credible demonstration of past persecution, whether the government has rebutted the presumption of Soto Vega’s well founded fear of future persecution. On January 30, 2007, the Board granted Mr. Vega’s application.

Monica, a native and citizen of Colombia, came to the United States under a student visa. While in the United States, Monica came out as a lesbian and became an activist in the LGBT, immigration, and women’s rights movements. Since her coming out and artistic expressions of activism, Monica fears returning to Colombia where homosexuality is seen as a sin and gay people have to live in hiding.

As a teenager in Zimbabwe, W.K. was imprisoned for being gay and suffered harassment and abuse, including being shocked with an electric wire. An immigration judge denied W.K.’s petition for asylum and ordered him removed to Zimbabwe. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the decision. In 2006, NCLR and co-counsel petitioned the court to reconsider its decision, but the Court denied W.K.’s petition for reconsideration, making his order of removal to Zimbabwe final.

Dina, a native and citizen of El Salvador, knew at a young age that she was a lesbian. Living under this constant threat of exposure, Dina was pressured to marry a man. Her husband, a police officer, knew she was gay and used her sexual orientation to control her and her children. For years, he physically abused and raped her, causing near death experiences and prolonged hospital recoveries.