Story at a glance
- A church group called LGBT Asylum Task Force is giving LGBTQ+ asylum seekers free housing, a monthly stipend and more critical resources as their asylum cases are processed.
- Under U.S. law, asylum seekers cannot work for up to two years after arriving.
- LGBT Asylum Task Force recently bought and renovated a former group home to be used to house LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.
A church group in Massachusetts is offering housing and a monthly stipend to LGBTQ+ immigrants that are fleeing their home countries due to their sexual orientation.
Called the LGBT Asylum Task Force, the group is a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church located in Worcester, Mass., and welcomes LGBTQ+ people from all faiths and traditions. They provide housing, food and connections to legal, medical and mental health resources to asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers aren’t allowed to start working for up to two years after arriving in the U.S., with many forced into homelessness or resorting to dangerous means to survive.
The LGBT Asylum Task Force was created to solve that crisis, offering critical resources to asylum seekers as they transition to life in the U.S. According to The Associated Press (AP), the ministry offers asylum seekers $500 in monthly stipends, connects them with immigration lawyers and helps them set up bank accounts, health insurance and more.
The group has raised more than $500,000 and recently purchased and renovated a three-story former group home on Worcester’s west side. That makes it the ministry’s biggest investment in the program to date, and so far, three gay men seeking asylum have moved in.
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“We found that giving folks stability has helped them better prepare for their asylum cases. They know they’re in a safe place until they can get on their feet,” Al Green, LGBT Asylum Task Force director, told AP.
Green is from Jamaica and participated in the program himself.
LGBTQ+ people face serious vulnerabilities around the world, with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) publishing a report that found consensual same-sex conduct was considered criminal in 69 countries. As many as 11 countries could impose the death penalty if convicted.
The UCLA report also said LGBTQ+ people can face persecution and violence, including domestic violence, rape and murder. That’s on top of facing discrimination in education, housing and health care.
UCLA researchers analyzed asylum application data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and found that between 2012 and 2017, 3,899 applications were filed with claims on the basis of LGBTQ+ status.
Almost all interviews involving LGBTQ+ claims resulted in positive determinations of fear, at 98 percent. About 96 percent received positive determinations for fear of persecution and some met requirements for fear of torture, at just under 1 percent.
One asylum seeker that was admitted to Massachusetts’ LGBT Asylum Task Force, Alain Spyke, told AP that he fled Jamaica after being continuously harassed and threatened by a local gang for being gay.
“To come into this country and have a safe space to escape all the hardships and trauma? Not everyone has that opportunity,” said Spyke.
However, LGBT Asylum Task Force isn’t the only group trying to help LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in the U.S. The LGBT Asylum Project in San Francisco provides legal help while the Trans Queer Pueblo in Arizona offers community building and advocacy.
The process of seeking asylum in the U.S. has recently become more challenging as President Biden reinstated former president Trump’s policy to deny asylum cases due to coronavirus concerns. That’s on top of Biden also reinstating Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols where asylum seekers have to stay in Mexico as their asylum cases are processed.
However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes exceptions for gay and transgender individuals, and a DHS spokesperson told AP that those individuals will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
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