Home at Last: 30 years of LGBTQ Asylum
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Asylum
SUBMIT COMMENTS SUMMARY OF ISSUE In early June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) proposed a new rule that would effectively destroy the asylum process in the United States. This rule would make it almost impossible for survivors of gender-based violence – including women, and LGBTQ+ people, especially those lacking legal representation – to obtain asylum in the United States. Instead countless people will be forcibly returned to...
A.E. is a gay man from Honduras who immigrated to the US in 2006. He has spent over 10 years of overcoming hardship and recovering from past trauma, including being targeted by violence and death threats in Honduras because of his sexual orientation. A.E. is now thriving and has a wonderful husband who was included in his asylum petition. With much preparation work from NCLR and a lot of emotional investment from A.E. and his husband, they were able to present their case at the asylum office,...
J. is a gay man in his twenties from Mexico who has a disability. He and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2018 and were apprehended at the border. They were placed in detention and most of his family was sent back to Mexico. However, he and his sister who has a small child were allowed to stay and were able to apply for asylum. J’s case was heard by an Immigration Judge in San Francisco. With the assistance of Chelsea HaleyNelson, of counsel, NCLR was able to prepare J. for his...
D.S. is a transgender woman from Mexico who came to the U.S. over 20 years ago. She faced severe persecution in Mexico because of her gender expression and perceived sexual orientation, including physical and sexual violence. Even after fleeing to the U.S., she continued to hide who she was, as she was living in a town with no visible LGBTQ community, and because of the lingering effects of the trauma she experienced. In early 2019, she moved to San Francisco, where she finally was able to...
Elias is a gay man from Brazil. He suffered bullying and harassment for being different for most of his childhood. At the age of 18, through a church program, Elias sought a sponsor to help him pay to study abroad so that he could leave Brazil. For 16 years, Elias has been studying abroad on student visas and has earned a Bachelor’s in the United States, two Master’s degrees from Austria and France, and studying and working in various other countries. After suffering hate crimes in Brazil,...
M.G. is a transgender woman from Mexico who came to the U.S. in 2002. She fled threats from gang members and violence from police. Unfortunately, due to the severe trauma she suffered from her past, she found herself in vulnerable positions even in this country which made it difficult or impossible for her to apply for asylum for over 15 years. She eventually moved to San Francisco, where found support in the form of therapy, support groups, and supervised medical treatment to advance her...
T. is a transgender man from Mexico who is still working to overcome the lasting effects of the trauma he has experienced, both in his country and here in the United States. In fact, he was the victim of an attack here in the U.S. T. learned about asylum through his friend, who was also an NCLR Immigration Project client. That friend introduced him to support groups, where he met other people he identified with, and which ultimately led to him deciding to apply for asylum. His friend also...
A.M.D. is a transgender man from Mexico who has suffered much persecution in his country of origin at the hands of society at large and state authorities, including sexual abuse and threats against his life. A.M.D. had a very difficult time preparing for and feeling confident during the asylum interview, because he has challenges remembering dates and specific details of events in his life, in part due to the effects of the persecution he suffered. Thanks to the diligent work of our...
G.C. is from Mexico and has been in the United States since 2005. G.C. has suffered so much throughout her life and been targeted for being a masculine lesbian. Because of that past suffering, it is really hard for her to speak about her past experiences, which is why it took her more than ten years to seek legal help. Applying for asylum is a very stressful and often traumatic experience that forces people to recount experiences they would rather forget. Our Immigration Project team was able...
