30 Members of Congress Demand Biden Protect Asylum Access for LGBTQ Refugees 

New York, NY (June 30th, 2023) — Immigration Equality worked with Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Joaquin Castro, Nanette Barragán and Mark Pocan who authored a letter to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas highlighting the plight of LGBTQ migrants who are forced to navigate persecution and violence to have a chance at seeking safety within the United States. The letter outlines specific demands including rolling back the Biden Administration’s dangerous Asylum Ban. 

The complete letter can be found here. 

Immigration Equality is grateful to Representatives Wasserman Schultz, Castro, Barragán and Pocan for their leadership, and the 30 Members of Congress who demonstrated their support of the LGBTQ immigrant community by signing onto the letter: 

Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
Salud Carbajal (D-CA)
Judy Chu (D-CA)
Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)
Robert Garcia (D-CA)
Henry Johnson (D-GA)
Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)
Darren Soto (D-FL)
Jill Tokuda (D-HI)
Juan Vargas (D-CA)
Nikema Williams (D-GA)
Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)
Tony Cárdenas (D-CA)
Veronica Escobar (D-TX)
Valerie Foushee (D-NC)
Raúl Grijalva (D-IL)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)
Mark Takano (D-CA)
Ritchie Torres (D-NY)
Nydia Velázquez (D-NY)
Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

Immigration Equality’s Director of Law and Policy, Bridget Crawford, responded with strong support for the letter sent to President Biden:

“The President’s Asylum Ban puts LGBTQ refugees in grave danger, subjecting them to further harm as they are forced to wait in Mexico or dangerous transit countries in order to seek protection from the U.S.” said Bridget Crawford.

“Moreover, the alternative pathways for migration proposed by the Administration largely exclude queer families and expose LGBTQ refugees to additional dangers. The Biden Administration must stop taking a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to managing asylum. The ‘carrot’ of alternative pathways creates a compelling incentive for anyone with the means and ability to pursue them. However, the ‘stick’ of penalizing the most vulnerable for saving their own lives is illegal, immoral and contrary to President Biden’s promise to protect vulnerable LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers.”