LGBT people from all over the globe come to the United States for many different reasons. Some come to escape civil unrest. Others seek a better life for their children. Some fall in love with an American citizen. And still others flee, simply and most crucially, because their very lives are at stake.
LGBT immigrants face specific and varying challenges that other immigrants don’t, and U.S. immigration laws unfairly discriminate against LGBT people and people with HIV and/or AIDS. As immigrants, their lives here are often precarious and endangered. With our unique expertise and experience, NCLR is committed to helping overcome the immigration hurdles faced by LGBT immigrants.
news & opinion
In The News
NCLR's Asylum Work Featured in Newsweek
11.30.08—Last year, the United States received about 49,000 applications for asylum due to a fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, more than any other nation. Of those, 22,930 individuals were officially granted asylum, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. In 1994 the "members of a particular social group" clause was expanded to include foreign citizens who feared persecution based on their sexual orientation. (In order to apply for asylum, one must already be present in the United States, either legally or illegally.)
Statement
President Obama Announces Final Rule Ending Ban on HIV-Positive Immigrants
Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell
10.30.09—The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) praised President Obama’s announcement today that a final rule repealing the ban on entry to the United States by people with HIV will be published on Monday, November 2. The repeal will take effect in early January, 2010.
read President Obama's remarks at the announcement of the end of the travel ban
Press Release
National Center for Lesbian Rights Immigration Project Director Noemi Calonje Honored by Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
10.16.09 — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) today announced that the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club will honor NCLR Immigration Project Director Noemi Calonje with their Legal Services Award, which is presented to individuals who build and protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community. Calonje will be presented with the award at the Club’s annual awards ceremony on Wednesday, October 21 at 6:00 pm at the Infusion Lounge in San Francisco.
Press Release
Civil Rights Groups Urge Ninth Circuit to Reconsider Denial of Asylum to Gay Man from Guatemala
04.24.09—Today, Immigration Equality and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed a friend of the court brief urging the Ninth Circuit to rehear its decision in Martinez v. Holder, 557 F.3d 1059 (9th Cir. 2009). Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied asylum to Saul Martinez, a gay man from Guatemala. Martinez fled Guatemala after he was beaten, sexually assaulted, and threatened by a Guatemalan Congressman and repeatedly harassed by the Guatemalan police—all because he was gay.
from the docket
Pending (Mexico)
In re M.G.
M.G. is a gay man from Mexico who came to the United States fleeing physical abuse from gangs and extortion by the police. When his mother died when he was 17, M.G. faced more physical violence from his father and his oldest brother because of his sexual orientation. Feeling desperate, he moved out and was homeless until he was eventually taken in by a neighbor in his small town of Mixquiahuala de Juarez. This neighbor treated him like a son and gave him shelter, food, and protection. Nevertheless, her sons were unhappy about M.G. staying there and would not allow him to eat at the table with them or enter their homes. By the time he was 20, he left and headed for the capital, where he found a job in an auto shop.
Pending (Uganda)
In re E.G.
E.G. is a young gay man who came to the United States in order to pursue higher education from Uganda, where being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is criminalized. In Uganda, he was often verbally abused by his family members for being gay, and he had to hide his feelings for fear of being arrested by the police on the basis of his sexual orientation. He eventually moved to the United States, but a family friend in the U.S. found out about his sexual orientation and told his family, who were then questioned by the Ugandan police. The police threatened his family and warned them that if E.G. returned to Uganda, he will be arrested. E.G. is currently proceeding with his asylum application, which is pending.
Aslyum Granted! (Honduras)
In re A.C.
A.C. is a prominent lesbian activist for LGBT rights and women’s rights in Honduras. A paramilitary gang of masked, armed men attacked A.C. in her home in Honduras and sexually assaulted her while making derogatory comments about her sexual orientation. A.C. did not report the sexual assault to the police, fearing that the police would subject her to further harassment or violence. After the attack, A.C. received a series of threatening phone calls that also used derogatory terms to describe her sexual orientation. She eventually fled to the United States and filed for asylum.