LGBTQ Asylum Seekers Face Layered Marginalization, So These Four Organizations Are Here to Help

Shelters for Hope converted an abandoned motel into a migrant resource center called the Centro de Esperanza and provides meals, legal assistance, clothing, and shoes to families seeking asylum in the United States. Shelters for Hope sees between 150 to 200 people a day and can currently house about 30 people.

LGBT Asylum’s trained volunteers have provided emotional support to over 400 LGBT+ asylum applicants, also preparing them for the procedural process, such as the questions they will be asked and how long it will take. LGBT+ applicants have to prove their sexual orientation and the danger they face in their home countries because of it, which is emotionally triggering. The all-LGBT+ volunteers are able to relate on some commonalities, which can make it easier for the asylum seekers to talk about their struggles. The group also holds social and networking events to hep people integrate into Danish society.

Carmen Carcelen lives in northern Ecuador with her husband, eight children, and hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who are fleeing poverty, violence, and hyperinflation at home. Carcelen has been providing food and shelter (and even foot rubs) to over 8,500 migrants for two years now. Carcelen says that she is spurred to action by her Christian faith, but welcomes any donations because it is currently financed on her husband's small income.

A small Turkish city named Gaziantep, only 60 miles from war-torn Aleppo, is a role model when it comes to taking in and integrating migrants fleeing violence in Syria. Gaziantep has already taken in 500,00 refugees (growing their population by 30%), piped in extra water from 80 miles away, built 50,000 new homes, and started integrating Syrian and Turkish children in schools. Government officials say that there has not been any significant crises yet and the Turkish people are welcoming newcomers with open arms.

As the struggles of refugees and immigrants drudges on, a number of cities across the US are gathering funding for their legal defense. One strategy, a legal counsel program called New York Family Immigrant Unity Project, has proven so successful that it now has 19 other counties in states like Colorado and Georgia participating in their network. Beyond that, these public defense projects often comprise of both public and private dollars and are all working for the right (not guaranteed by the US Constitution) to have access to legal counsel during immigration proceedings.

Grassroots organizers use mobile technology to spread information and resources to underserved immigrant communities. Groups like the Haitian Bridge Alliance and UndocuBlack mobilize legal and social resources for immigrants who belong to groups often characterized as “invisible” in the public discourse, because they represent such a small percentage of the migrant population. Mobile tech enables these nonprofits to publicize individual cases and quickly connect immigrants to appropriate social networks.

When many Latina immigrant women arrive in the United States, they don't have access to the internet to learn about the resources available to them. Únete Latina, a program run by Latinas, sends mobile phone texts to women with supportive messages in Spanish and with information about relevant news items and public services.

With a lack of government aid and interference, border communities are stepping up to care for both migrants and local residents through efforts like The Sidewalk School and Casa de la Esperanza — nonprofits that offer shelter, programming and resource centers for migrants and locals in need.

Community-based services provided by nonprofits — which include legal representation, housing, referrals for medical services, English language classes, and assistance with obtaining identity documents — have emerged as alternatives to ICE-based detention centers to help address the needs of immigrants and asylum seekers. Organizations like the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants provide food, housing, and case management support for asylum seekers, both individuals and entire families.

Spektrum, a self-organized LGBTQ+ migrant organization, provides a space of belonging to queer migrants, who often feel out of place and ill-served by traditional organizations that do not understand the violence and trauma they have endured. Spektrum has a non-hierarchical leadership structure and provides members with practical and relevant activities, like a bicycle repair workshop, which is important as many migrants rely on bikes as their main mode of transportation. The group was invited to help organize Cologne Pride and has advised the city on the lack of social services in some neighborhoods.