Cailan Cordwell

Dr. Wheatley

HON 394

3 December 2018

LGBT Experiences in Migration

Two men stand across from each other, one in a striking cobalt blue button-up and the

other wearing a festive silver hat and boa, reminiscent of tinsel on a Christmas tree. Their

wedding is a celebration, a ceremony of togetherness and love amidst the struggles they’ve

faced. Erick and Pedro left Honduras to escape violence and are now travelling with the caravan

arriving at the US-Mexico border intending to apply for asylum (Drury 2018). The others

travelling in the caravan have had a difficult journey as well, but being gay has only added to

Erick and Pedro’s struggles. Like many LGBT people migrating, their experiences are

determined largely by their sexuality, beginning with their motivation for leaving their country of

origin and ending with what they will face when they reach their destination.

When members of the LGBT community flee their home countries, they do so in hopes

of a better life somewhere they will not be persecuted on the basis of their sexuality. Other

migrants may leave their country of origin for economic or climate-related reasons, and other

asylum seekers may be fleeing persecution based on religious or political ideology, but LGBT

asylum seekers’ motivations are linked directly to their sexuality. Not only are they at risk from

their governments, communities, and gangs, many LGBT migrants face persecution from their

family members starting from a young age, unlike their non-LGBT counterparts. One study

found that roughly 50% of LGBT asylum seekers had experienced persecution from their

families while none of the non-LGBT asylum seekers shared this experience (Hopkinson et al.
2017). The non-LGBT asylum seekers still faced persecution from other sources, like the

government and paramilitary groups, but the LGBT groups faced persecution from their family

in addition to these sources. Members of the LGBT group were also facing persecution starting

at much younger ages overall than their straight counterparts. Approximately 60% of them

experienced some form of persecution (physical abuse, sexual violence, etc.) before they were

18, whereas only 40% of the migrants in the non-LGBT group experienced this (Hopkinson et al.

2017). In addition to fleeing for safety, many gay people leave their home countries in pursuit of

freedom to be themselves. Staying in their country means hiding their identity from their loved

ones, which can take a toll on physical health over time. Staying also puts their families at risk

for acts of violence and social rejection from the community (Carillo 2010).

Facing rejection from their governments, communities, and most importantly their

families, LGBT migrants leave home looking for safety, but doing so puts them at even greater

risk than someone who is fleeing for reasons unrelated to sexuality. Data has shown that LGBT

asylum seekers are at significantly greater risk for sexual violence than the general population of

asylum seekers. According to the study, 67% of the LGBT asylum seekers had experienced some

form of sexual violence, compared with 24% of the non-LGBT asylum seekers (Hopkinson et al.

2017). These experiences aren’t limited to the pre-flight stages of their migration but extend well

into the post-flight stages as well. In detention centers in the United States, it was found that

detainees in the LGBT community are more likely to be the victims of sexual violence during

their detention. In fact, according to 2017 reports from ICE, LGBT detainees were 97 times more

likely to experience sexual violence in detention than their straight peers (Gruberg 2018). This

data is likely not representative of the actually instances of sexual violence in detention, both
because ICE may be underreporting the data and because victims of sexual violence would be

too afraid to speak up against officers of the detention centers out of fear for their safety.

The overall process of applying for asylum is also considerably more difficult for LGBT

people. Up until the 90s the United States had a policy that allowed for the exclusion of

immigrants based on their sexuality. While the language in the legislature didn’t explicitly ban

homosexuals, homosexuality fell under the umbrella classification of “mental defects” and later

“sexual deviancy” in the McCarran Walter Act of 1952 (Luibheid 2007). Today, it’s possible for

LGBT people to apply for asylum because belonging to the LGBT community qualifies as

belonging to a persecuted social group, but asylum still isn’t as accessible as it should be. Most

cases get turned down simply because the interview doesn’t believe the applicant’s testimony

(Jakuleviciene, Bieksa, and Samuchovaite 2012). For the general population of asylum seekers,

there are certain forms of evidence that can be provided to convince the interviewer of their need

for asylum, but there isn’t much evidence one can provide to empirically prove their sexuality.

For the most part, the interviewer must rely on the testimony of the applicant, witness statements,

and information about their country of origin. Information on their country of origin can’t be

relied on too heavily in the credibility checks because data on homophobia and acts of violence

may be underreported in an effort to save face, or the country may only provide information on

one subgroup of the LGBT community (Jakuleviciene, Bieksa, and Samuchovaite 2012).

Additionally, the decision is often made based on what the interviewer believes an LGBT person

should look, talk, and act like, similar to how LGBT people were identified to be excluded using

the McCarran Walter Act of 1952.

There is no all-encompassing solution to the struggles that members of the LGBT

community face in migration, or in general. Many solutions already in place are causing
additional problems. For example, ICE’s solution for danger to LGBT detainees is to place them

in solitary confinement, but this exacerbates mental health problems and doesn’t create long-

term safety for them. A real solution to sexual violence in detention centers specifically would

involve extensive retraining of officers and reforming the system so that officers responsible for

violence in the detention centers are held accountable for their actions. Retraining is also

necessary for interviewers in the asylum process, as well as modification to the asylum

application process. Interviewers should be trained to handle LGBT cases with sensitivity and in

a way that won’t further endanger LGBT applicants. The current process should be reformed to

place less of an emphasis on proving people don’t deserve asylum and focusing more on giving

people the benefit of the doubt. People shouldn’t need extensive documentation of their struggles

to prove that their struggles existed. Finally, I think the most helpful solution would be the

creation of safe spaces specifically for people in these overlapping communities. For LGBT

migrants, they face exclusion from multiple groups. Undocumented immigrants in the LGBT

community, also known as “undocuqueer,” are specifically excluded from LGBT safe spaces that

require certain forms of ID (Cisneros 2015). They are also excluded even within the migrant

community because of their sexuality (Jakuleviciene, Bieksa, and Samuchovaite 2012).

Organizations such as Mariposas Sin Fronteras work specifically with LGBT people in detention

to help them get out and provide resources upon release. More organizations like this could help

alleviate the struggles of LGBT migrants by providing safe spaces for them to be themselves and

interact with people sharing similar backgrounds. Homophobia can’t be stopped with a border

wall but providing LGBT migrants and asylum seekers with support systems would go a long

way in addressing the discrimination and dangers they face.

 Bibliography

Carillo, Hector. “Leaving Loved Ones Behind.” In Mobility, Sexuality, and AIDS, edited  by

Felicity Thomas, Mary Haour-Knipe, and Peter Aggleton, 24-38. New York:

Routledge, 2010.

Cisneros, Jesus. 2015. Undocuqueer : Interacting and Working within the Intersection of

LGBTQ

and Undocumented.

https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/157987/content/Cisneros_asu_0010E_15207.pdf

Drury, Colin. “Gay couple from migrant caravan marry as they arrive in Mexico-US border

town.” Independent, November 18, 2018.

Gruberg, Sharita. “ICE’s Rejection of Its Own Rules is Placing LGBT Immigrants at Severe Risk

of Sexual Abuse.” Center for American Progress, May 30, 2018.

https://www.americanprogress.org/.

Hopkinson, Rebecca A., Eva Keatley, Elizabeth Glaeser, Laura Erickson-Schroth, Omar Fattal,

and Melba Nicholson Sullivan. “Persecution Experiences and Mental Health of

LGBT Asylum Seekers.” Journal of Homosexuality (2017): 1650-1666.

doi:10.1080/00918369.2016.1253392..

Jakuleviciene, Lyra, Laurynas Bieksa, and Egle Samuchovaite. “Procedural Problems in LGBT

Asylum Cases.” Jurisprudence 19, no. 1 (2012): 195-207.

Luibheid, Eithne. “‘Looking Like a Lesbian’: The Organization of Sexual Monitoring at the

United States-Mexican Border.” In Women and Migration in the U.S.-Mexico

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