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LGBT Undocumented Immigrants

Wikis > LGBT Undocumented Immigrants

“Undocuqueer”

In March 2013, the Williams Institute at UCLA released a report on the number of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) immigrants in the Gender Equality in the United States of America of America. LGBT collectively refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Based on data from the Pew Hispanic Research Center, Gallup Daily Tracking Survey and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the report estimates that there are at least 267,000 self-identified LGBT undocumented immigrant adults currently residing in the USA.The Williams Institute, INFOGRAPHIC: The LGBT Undocumented (2013) It is the first report to consider the number of queer, undocumented individuals currently living in the USA – “undocuqueer”, as many reaffirm. http://newamericamedia.org/2012/06/for-undocuqueer-youth-obama-brings-cautious-optimism.php http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jorge-gutierrez/i-am-undocuqueer_b_2521339.html The estimates are, however, conservative, as it does not include individuals under the age of 18 – a population estimated at 637,000 minimum self-identified LGBT individuals.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elena-shore/undocuqueer-lgbt-immigrants_b_2840748.html

Intersecting Discrimination

The intersection of LGBTQI (which refers to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Intersex) and undocumented identities manifests not only in social discrimination, there are additionally systematic disparities at the policy level as well. Before the recent federal repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same-sex couples were barred access from benefits allotted to heterosexual couples. Although the repeal of this act has positive implications for the rights of binational same-sex couples, the statewide limitations on same-sex marriage still act as barriers to many committed same-sex partners, unable to marry in their own state.http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/report/2013/03/08/55674/living-in-dual-shadows/ Thus, for same-sex binational couples, both marriage and immigration reforms need to occur in order ensure the equal provision of rights to both same-sex and different-sex couples. One such reform would occur by passing the Uniting American Families Act, opening family-based immigration sponsorship to committed same-sex partners, even without an official marriage license.

Similarly, asylum and detention standards disproportionately affect LGBT individuals; the one-year limitation to file an asylum claim can be more difficult for LGBT individuals navigating social stigmas and the “coming out” process. In detention, LGBT individuals have little support or space to report cases of sexual violence. Although there are no official policies on how or where to place transgender individuals in detention, many are placed in solitary confinement as a “safeguard” against the “physical and sexual abuse by other detainees when [they are] placed with the general population because of their physical appearance.”http://newamericamedia.org/2012/03/transgender-immigrant-detainees-cut-off-from-legal-help.php

“Lawrence was held in ICE custody for nearly three years while she sought asylum. For all but six months, she was kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. During the hour she and other transgender detainees were allowed out of their cells, jail administrators had to lock down the rest of the jail facility in order to protect them from the general population.”

Solidarity between LGBTQ and Immigration Rights Movements

“Undocuqueers have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of the immigrant youth movement.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and self-proclaimed undocuqueer José Antonio Vargas emphasizes the leadership role of young undocumented LGBT immigrants in the immigration reform movement. Known as “DREAMers,” these are individuals who qualify for citizenship status under the DREAM Act – individuals who came to the United States as children and have lived in the States for their entire lives. The essential alliance building between the LGBTQI and the immigrant rights movements has been highlighted by these young DREAMers and supported by groups such as United We Dream (UWD), the largest national immigrant youth organization in the United States. UWD has committed to ensuring leadership representation of undocuqueers, and in 2011 began the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP), seeking to empower and organize undocuqueers, undocumented youth, and allies in grassroots education and advocacy efforts.

Art of the Undocuqueer Project

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