LGBTQ+ Immigrants and UndocuQueer people скачать в хорошем качестве

LGBTQ+ Immigrants and UndocuQueer people

Transcript: There are many LGBTQ immigrants who come to the United States seeking asylum from their home country due to persecution on the basis of their gender or sexuality. Not all LGBTQ immigrants immigrate because of that sort of discrimination, but that is the group we tend to note the most. There are also people who immigrate for unrelated reasons, but would benefit from a more welcoming space for multicultural LGBTQ people as well. As a quick refresher: a refugee is someone who is fleeing their country of origin because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution. An asylum-seeker is someone who is seeking protection, but hasn’t yet been granted the legal title “refugee.” Upon reception, asylum-seekers under US law are ineligible to work for 6 months after applying, and are not eligible for public assistance until they are officially granted refugee status. That means they may have very little support here. Regardless of if the person is seeking asylum from persecution or is immigrating for an unrelated reason, the US has a poor history when it comes to LGBTQ immigration. The Immigration Act of 1917 discriminated against anyone ‘undesirable’ — including disabled people and anyone deemed “mentally defective” (including LGBTQ people). Later, “sexual deviation” specifically became grounds for banning someone from the country. Up until 2010, being HIV+ would warrant a rejection as well. Same-gender couples were only allowed immigration benefits based on their pre-existing marriage in 2013. Now, only legal marriages quality for immigration benefits and protections — not civil unions. The couple must be married in their country of origin in order to get visas as a couple. Currently there are 31 countries with gender-based marriage equality, with many other countries having a “civil union” option (which does not qualify for benefits) or no alternative. That leaves LGBTQ couples with fewer options when it comes to moving their families. Whether someone is escaping a country where their sexuality or gender are vilified, or they are immigrating for another reason, they are entering a country that is by no means fully safe for LGBTQ people, particularly those who are transgender and/or undocumented. Citing data from the National Center for Transgender Equality, close to 1 out of 4 undocumented transgender immigrants reported being physically attacked within the last year (survey from 2017). To combat that issue, some undocumented queer folks have taken on the purposefully-politicized label of “Undocuqueer,” to describe their experience living at the intersection of those marginalized identities, and to reject the fear and shame assigned to those words. “Undocumented and unafraid, queer and unashamed” (United We Dream, 2017) Both LGBTQ rights and immigrant rights campaigns often end up focused on narratives of “respectability,” attempting to assure cishet white citizens that marginalized people are ‘just like you.’ Some examples: the white lesbian couple next door with a picket fence and 2 kids, or the DREAMer college graduate with perfect English who pulled themself up by their bootstraps. At this point, that narrative only “legitimizes colonial, gender and racial control and establishes distinctions between ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ people” (Cisneros 1417). Prioritizing assimilation allows for harm to continue against those who are the most vulnerable — there become “good immigrants” and “bad immigrants,” when most people just want a safe and comfortable place to be themselves. LGBTQ immigrants might feel at risk in both communities from their culture or origin, and local LGBTQ groups. Acknowledging and claiming those intersections helps to push for the necessary spaces and changes in our narratives surrounding who is deserving of safety and community here — which should be everyone.