In response to the finalization of a new rule published today jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice governing Asylum and Withholding of Removal, the Center’s Director of Policy and Community Building Terra Russell-Slavin issued the following statement:
“We join LGBT and immigrant’s rights and legal aid organizations across the country in condemning another blatant attack on the due process rights of asylum seekers by the Trump administration. This final rule immorally targets women and LGBTQ asylum seekers by limiting their ability to claim asylum based on their gender, eliminating nearly all LGBTQ asylum claims. If implemented, the rule would also eliminate asylum for survivors of gender-based persecution such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), forced marriage, rape, domestic violence, femicide, and human trafficking.
“The rule’s far-reaching changes to asylum set a dangerous framework, endangering the lives of thousands of asylum-seekers who face anti-LGBT laws and anti-LGBT violence around the world. We strongly urge President-elect Joe Biden to immediately take action to stop this rule once his administration takes office.”
The Center’s Immigration Law Project and Legal Services department provide legal consultations; full-scope representation to LGBT immigrants before the Executive Office of Immigration Review Immigration Courts; full-scope representation on affirmative cases before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service; and holistic support from advocates—ranging from housing to legal advocacy and the provision of health services—to protect members of the LGBTQ immigrant community.