President Donald Trump’s second term has especially targeted two groups in particular: immigrants and LGBTQ people. On his first day in office, he ended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which left thousands of refugees who had already been approved to live in the United States stranded. He also drastically lowered the cap on the number of refugees allowed to enter the U.S. from 125,000 to 7,500. Thankfully, Immigration Equality is here to help.

“For many decades, we’ve seen clients arrive with nothing but hope and fear, and walk out with safety and freedom,” Anto Chavez, Immigration Equality’s communications director, told LGBTQ Nation. “It’s just becoming harder to fight, but we’re still here with them. We still hold their hand every step of the way. We have more than 700 active legal cases, our legal staff trains thousands of lawyers nationwide to represent queer immigrants pro bono, and we fight in the courts and Congress to expand protections.”

Related

These LGBTQ+ refugees fled hatred & found safety in the US. Now they’re navigating Trump’s America.

Founded in 1994, Immigration Equality provides free legal help for immigrants and asylum seekers who are LGBTQ+ or HIV-positive. The group is fighting Trump’s seemingly arbitrary executive orders on immigration in courts — and winning. 

Chavez spoke with LGBTQ Nation about how the sociocultural landscape around immigration has changed now that Trump is back in office and what average citizens can do to fight for the rights of queer immigrants in our community.

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

LGBTQ Nation: What has changed under Trump’s second term for immigrants applying for asylum to escape anti-LGBTQ persecution in their home countries?

Anto Chavez: The anti-immigrant rhetoric has shaped the culture and the cultural shift in our country; this happened during Trump’s term as well. But it really changes how queer immigrants even envision themselves in the U.S. 

At the beginning of this administration, some of our clients were refugees. We have an asylum program and a refugee program. Historically, we have worked with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), but we opened up our refugee program a few years ago. After we launched it, some folks were really scared to even just decide to come to the U.S. I think there was a lot of misinformation, [but] this is still a place that’s safer for many folks. 

But when it comes to policy — I mean, if we talk about refugee work, every avenue has been blocked for us. The refugee resettlement program went from thousands a year to zero, and so we’ve had to really look into other options. 

How has Donald Trump’s executive order drastically lowering the refugee cap affected refugees who were already approved?

Since January 20, after the executive order suspending the refugee resettlement program and halting the process for many folks, we had people who were ready to travel and had to cancel. So for queer and trans asylum seekers, this means just fewer pathways for relocation or protection from persecution. 

The U.S. has historically been a place where queer immigrants have been able to come and live freely.  It’s scary to think it’s starting to change. 

There are increased barriers for asylum seekers who are already here as well. Policies like what was called “Remain in Mexico,” were reinstated. The CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) One app, which allowed those migrating for humanitarian reasons to schedule asylum interviews at ports of entry, was ended, and existing appointments were canceled.

There has been increased deportation, including of multiple LGBTQ asylum seekers. There’s also the abuse that happens in detention, particularly to queer and trans immigrants. It’s just out of this world. We have some reports that queer immigrants are more likely to be assaulted and abused in ICE detention and put into solitary confinement. 

Related

ICE raids uniquely harm queer immigrants, but LGBTQ+ communities are fighting back

Have your clients been affected by the ICE raids and forceful detainments?

Thankfully, we haven’t seen that happening with our clients, at least not directly working with us. We do want to make sure that we’re giving folks the best advice. So it has been tricky to let our clients know, yes, you need to go to this check-in or this interview.

But are we sure that they will not be pulled, even though they’re not supposed to be detained? Not 100%. So thankfully, we haven’t run into those issues with our clients. But I see what you’re talking about every day in the news. We have to protect each other.

To what degree do the courts seem sympathetic to immigrants who are seeking legal residential status in the U.S.?

Some of our courts have blocked government efforts to revoke broad classes of legal protections when they have been, or at least appear, arbitrary. 

For example, [consider] the recent rulings blocking attempts to end status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians under TPS (Temporary Protected Status)…. A lot of [Trump’s] decisions are really just a back and forth [in the courts] and still on hold.

Unfortunately, for me, it’s not just work, right? I have loved ones who are going through these procedures, who I’m calling and I’m checking in every day and trying to see what else we can do to keep them safe. So it’s impactful beyond just my everyday at work.

To me, as someone who has been an activist and working in the LGBTQ and immigration justice spaces, organizing and advocacy become more and more essential when protections are being erased. When the systems are getting more and more hostile, the work of organizations like Immigration Equality becomes even more critical: for litigation, for direct representation, for policy pushes, and community care. That’s a huge one.  

For forever, immigrant communities have learned how to take care of each other without relying on systems that have failed us. We have to continue to do that. We have to continue to fight. It’s not the first time that we’re targeted as immigrants or as queer people or as queer immigrants, and so we will continue to stay. 

We’re here to stay; there’s nowhere that we’re going. No matter how much they want to erase us, we have always existed, and we’re here to stay.

What can average citizens do to help LGBTQ immigrants who are seeking legal status in the United States?

First, amplify stories and visibility. Share the stories of queer immigrants. Follow organizations like Immigration Equality and share what’s happening. Talk about these issues with your friends, with your networks. Visibility is part of the fight. Erasure is what endangers us, and storytelling is one of the most powerful ways we have to push back and shift that narrative. 

Advocate for human policies. Ending trans detention, restoring the asylum system, expanding protections, just joining your community. There will be someone around you that’s doing this work already. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and we all have a role. We don’t all have to be out in the street protesting. We don’t all have to be sitting at a desk writing press releases. 

We all have different roles, and I think it’s important to remember that, and build that empathy and courage to say we’re not talking about strangers at the border. We’re talking about our friends, our partners, our coworkers. Queer immigrants are part of every community in this country.

People always ask what they can do, and I tell them, “Start where you are.” Share stories. Speak up when queer and trans immigrants are erased from the conversation. Donate if you can, call your representative and demand humane immigration policies. Immigration Equality can only do this work because people have believed in it for three decades, and that collective belief is what saves lives every day.

It’s good to know that all is not lost.

That’s right. And we keep winning. We still have a 90% win rate for asylum cases. So yeah, we’re fighting. There’s still hope.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.