Category Archive: Uncategorized

  1. Regina

    Leave a Comment

    My name is Regina, which in Latin means queen. I see myself as a queen and I carry myself as such. But it has taken a long time for other people to accept me as the special person I have always known myself to be. In Guyana, where I was born, they tried to expel it from me. In the Caribbean, LGBTQ people are often shunned and discriminated against. You can be attacked, you can be stabbed, which is what happened to me, or you can be killed.

    When I was seven years old, one of the neighborhood children saw me hugging a male friend. That neighbor told his mother, and she told my family that I was doing “wickedness.” When I came home, my grandmother took me to my room, buried my face in my pillow, and sat on my head while the others beat me until I fainted. I thought I was going to die. When I regained consciousness, my mother was crying and told me that I was a disgrace. She said my behavior was unacceptable, and that I had to be a man.

    I didn’t understand what she was talking about because I was just being myself. It wasn’t until I came to the United States in 2014 that I realized I was a transgender woman. I had never even heard the term before. What I did understand from a young age was that I wasn’t safe.

    The only place I found happiness was in music. I am a singer, and all my life music has given me courage, hope, and a sense of belonging. I used to go out to karaoke bars, and when I would sing I felt like I was expressing my true emotions. But even those spaces were dangerous. One night after singing karaoke, a group of men attacked me. Another time I was stabbed. I knew I had to leave Guyana.

    I tried to go to Trinidad, but I didn’t even make it past the airport. I had dressed up like Queen Elizabeth for the occasion, but my passport said I was a male and the officials didn’t believe I was the same person. I was humiliated, and they sent me on the next flight back to Guyana. The next time I left, I came to the United States.

    Here, after nearly four years of fighting for my chance to live safely and authentically as myself, I won asylum with the help of Immigration Equality. I was always confident I would win, because I knew I was telling the truth. I knew that I was here because I wanted to be safe, and that if they rejected my case, they would be sending me back to die. I felt so relieved when I won, because everything I was hearing from the Trump administration had begun to give me doubts that the truth would be enough.

    I know the United States is not perfect, but it has come a long way. Living in Guyana, I saw America as a beacon of hope, and being here has been an honor. I love this country, and one day I would like to sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the White House. But I want to do it when there is a trans or gay president—a president who understands our struggles, who strengthens our liberties, and who treats us like we are human beings.

    For now, I want to be a voice for other trans people, both through my music and my actions. I want to be in a position where I can help others, and thanks to the asylum system and Immigration Equality, I am well on my way.

  2. Pablo and Santiago

    Comments Off on Pablo and Santiago

    When my husband Santiago and I met at a bar in Venezuela in 1991, I had no idea my life was about to change forever. A whirlwind romance grew into hundreds of love letters exchanged between Caracas and New York, multiple visits to meet each other’s families, and eventually turned into 27 years of true love.

    We never knew how much time we would have together. Santiago has been living with HIV for more than 30 years. He would not have been able to receive the care he needed in Venezuela, so in 1992 I came to New York to take care of him. When my visa expired, I had no choice but to stay. He says I saved his life.

    It wasn’t easy, though. The daily anxiety of living as an undocumented person left me feeling isolated. Some days I felt like a ghost. The worst part was knowing I had something valuable to offer this country, but being denied the opportunity to contribute.

    Finding Immigration Equality changed all of that. Santiago and I became plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which prevented same-sex couples from marrying, and was the reason Santiago was unable to sponsor me to live legally in the United States.

    We fought for the freedom to marry, and thankfully, the Supreme Court sided with us in another case that was before them in 2013.

  3. Oscar

    Leave a Comment

    Oscar knew his family wouldn’t accept him as a gay man. He feared them, as well as his neighbors and schoolmates, and eventually decided to make the dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States.

    His migration lasted a grueling three weeks. While he no longer lives in fear due to his sexuality, things have not been easy on this side of the border. He has been unable to rely on extended family and experienced a severe illness last year.

    However, now that he has asylum, he feels supported and has opportunities he couldn’t access in Mexico or the United States when he was undocumented. Oscar loves to cook and dreams of owning a restaurant. About his life in the U.S. he says, “I feel more free.”

  4. Mikaela

    Leave a Comment

    My name is Mikaela and I am a proud trans woman and an immigrant from Perú. My life in Perú was very hard because of transphobia. I had trans friends who were older than me who were killed, and I felt that if I stayed there that would be my future too. It felt like a place where death was waiting for me.

    A religious organization helped me to secure a visa to the United States in 2003. When I decided to stay in the U.S., I went to many organizations, but none were able to help me. Finally, in 2010 a friend told me about Immigration Equality, and I feel so blessed to have found them.

    Immigration Equality opened a door to my future, a door to my life. I applied for asylum, and they guided me the whole way. They are wonderful people who truly help from the heart.

    The feeling of receiving asylum is something I can’t explain. I had spent so much time with my head down, not knowing my destiny or future. When I heard my asylum application was approved, I felt true happiness. I realized the wait was worth it, the tears were worth it, everything was worth it. And it was all thanks to Immigration Equality’s help.

    Life is much easier now that I’m no longer afraid. Two years ago, I got married and I hope to one day adopt kids and become a mom. I’m committed to ensuring that every day is a day in which we celebrate trans people; I know Immigration Equality is too.

  5. Marlon and Julian

    Leave a Comment

    I never felt safe as a gay man in Colombia due to the constant threat of homophobic violence. After being brutally attacked by a group of men in Bogotá in 2014, I visited New York, where I immediately felt protected. Today I live there safely with my husband Julian.

    After coming to the U.S., I found Immigration Equality and they helped me file for asylum. It was a two-year process, but during that time I started school, learned English, and fell in love.

    Julian was a childhood friend of mine in Colombia. I always had a crush on him growing up, and we reconnected over social media when I was in New York. He came to visit me, and we realized that we had to stay together. We got married, and Immigration Equality was able to secure asylum for both of us. Now we can pursue our dreams together.

    Growing up I aspired to be an actor, and now I am pursuing that dream, completing acting classes and auditioning. Julian is a professional graphic designer and is studying English at CUNY. Together, we have a Persian cat, and one day hope to adopt kids.

    I am a very positive person and believe in transforming bad into good. Bad things have happened to me but I have persevered and turned my life into something I love. A life full of possibility.

  6. Ishalaa

    Leave a Comment

    A powerful, inspiring Mexican transgender activist, Ishalaa was the lead spokesperson for her local LGBTQ rights group in Mexico and organized protests against an anti-LGBTQ gubernatorial candidate in her state. After receiving death threats, Ishalaa made the difficult decision to flee for safety.

    After presenting herself at the U.S. border, Ishalaa was locked away in detention for over a month before she was released on bond. Two and a half years later, together with Milbank Pro Bono Fellow Alex Barlow, Ishalaa went to Phoenix, Arizona, to fight her deportation.

    Alex argued the case before the Immigration Court and we won. Though she had to leave her Mexican activist community in search of safety in the U.S., Ishalaa remains an activist and works for the Translatin@ and GLB immigrant communities.

    She works as a case manager at a community health center and says, “I am so fulfilled, so happy. I am also a full-time student majoring in political science… [my] goal is to become a lawyer. I’m a busy girl, but it was something I was fighting for and I finally have it. It feels great to have my life together again.”

  7. Ilon

    Leave a Comment

    My name is Ilon and I am a nonbinary educator, writer, photographer, doctor, asylum winner, and new U.S. citizen. I was born and raised in Venezuela. There, I was an emergency-room doctor, but I had to hide my sexuality and gender identity from my family and friends.

    If I wanted to attend an LGBTQ event, I would leave my car somewhere and take a cab so no one would know where I was. I had to hide from police officers. The people who were supposed to protect me targeted me instead. That was my life in Venezuela.

    When I came to the United States to continue my education, I discovered what it was like to be free. I couldn’t bear the idea of returning to a double and dangerous life, so I made an appointment with Immigration Equality. They gave me a lawyer, and six weeks later, I received asylum.

    I feel exceedingly fortunate, and I want people in similar situations to know that there is hope, that things do get better. While I no longer practice medicine because the Venezuelan government refuses to send my paperwork, I found a new career I love, teaching other doctors and writing. In the future, I would like to train doctors to better serve the LGBTQ community.

  8. Edwin

    Leave a Comment

    One of the youngest members of the Trans-Gay Migrant Caravan that arrived at the U.S border in the summer of 2017, Edwin spent his 20th birthday in the Hudson Detention Center in Kearny, New Jersey.

    Edwin survived years of abuse, torture, and multiple gang kidnappings in Honduras; but the nearly 10 months he spent detained in the United States were some of the hardest of his life. Conditions were so bad that he had even agreed to be deported before Immigration Equality took his case.

    Thankfully, his Immigration Equality attorney was able to reassure him that his case was strong, and in May 2019 Edwin won asylum and was released from detention! Today, he is starting is his life over in Texas, focusing on building skills, including improving his English by taking a language class.

  9. Eliam

    Leave a Comment

    Like many people in our community, I struggled with coming to terms with my identity. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, I wasn’t sure if I was straight or gay, a woman or a man. The first time I met people from the LGBTQ community was when I went to college. There, I had some lesbian friends and I started identifying as a lesbian even though the term never felt quite right.

    Around that time, I started having issues with some of my family members, and suffered from depression to the point that I tried to kill myself. I dressed in a very masculine way, and they worried about what other people would think about me. I started to look for a way to leave my house.

    In 2008, I heard about a program that would allow me to work in the United States for the summer. I applied and ended up going to Michigan. There, I felt free. It felt like I could be myself without fear of what people would say, without fear that someone would hit or threaten me. When the summer was over, I knew I had to stay.

    I moved in with some family members in New York and became undocumented. At the time, I was still referring to myself as a lesbian. That changed when I was watching The L Word on television and a character came out as a transgender man. In the Dominican Republic, I had never even heard of the existence of transgender men, but I identified with that character so much, I couldn’t get him out of my head. I started to do my own research online and realized that was me. I was a man.

    It took some time to come to terms with my identity, but in 2016, I moved to North Carolina and started to physically transition. I was looking for information about changing my name when Immigration Equality’s website popped up. I started reading their clients’ stories, just like this one! With Immigration Equality’s guidance, I applied for asylum. When I won my case I was ecstatic. What made it especially meaningful is that I did it without having to hide any part of my true self.

    Thanks to the help of Immigration Equality, I can finally say I am a proud trans man.

  10. Edafe

    Comments Off on Edafe

    Edafe is a gay refugee from Nigeria who was granted asylum. In Nigeria, he was a victim of mob violence due to his work advocating for LGBTQ access to health care.

    When he arrived in the U.S., he told the immigration agents at the airport that he would like to apply for asylum. They detained him at the Elizabeth detention center in New Jersey for over five months.

    Edafe eventually won his asylum case, but life outside of the detention center has not been easy. Having a different accent, a foreign degree, and dark skin have “been a rough ride.” However, Edafe believes in the diversity of this country and its commitment to freedom of speech and action. “I am a fighter and I am not giving up on the struggle to find a new home.”

    Edafe not only fought for himself, he fought for others. He founded the only shelter in New York City specifically for asylum seekers and refugees experiencing homelessness. In 2022, his book ASYLUM, A Memoir & Manifesto was released.