National
U.S. issues new guidance for LGBT asylum claims
‘A step in the right direction, but it’s not enough’
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services issued new guidance on Tuesday to assist officers handling asylum and refugee claims from LGBT people seeking to escape persecution by living in the United States.
The module, called “Guidance for Adjudicating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Refugee and Asylum Claims,” addresses legal issues for weighing such cases, covers factors that must be considered when interviewing LGBT applicants and details methods to assess credibility of claims. The guidance doesn’t expand the statutory definition of a refugee.
According to Immigration Equality, the guidance is the result of a two-year collaborative process between the organization and USCIS. In a statement, Victoria Nelson, Immigration’s Equality’s legal director, called the module an “important step to better protect LGBTI asylum seekers.”
“This guidance will give officers the tools they need to gather the necessary evidence for validating an asylum claim, while respecting the often sensitive issues that potential asylees must navigate based on their past persecution,” Nelson said.
Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for Immigration Equality, said his organization has an open case load of LGBT asylum seekers that ranges from 150 to 200 cases each year. He estimated there are about 250 such cases of LGBT people seeking to come to the United State to escape persecution each year.
Many of these people come from nearby countries, such as Jamaica. While incidents of anti-gay harassment, even killings, are frequently reported in the Middle East, Ralls said the distance between those countries and the United States makes it difficult for LGBT people to seek asylum here.
According to the guidance, officers must determine if applicants are being persecuted because they have one or more of the characteristics of the definition of an LGBT refugee. The guidance instructs officers to ask applicants what a persecutor may have said to them while causing them harm as well as the context of the persecution, such as if the applicant was attacked in a gay bar or while holding hands with a same-sex partner.
Examples of harm the guidance says LGBT people overseas may encounter include criminal penalties in countries where homosexuality is illegal; rape and other sexual violence; being forced into widely discredited “ex-gay” therapy aimed to alter sexual orientation; and being forced into an opposite-sex marriage.
“These incidents of harm must be assessed in their totality,” the guidance states. “They must be analyzed in light of prevailing attitudes with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity in the country of origin.”
Additionally, officers must determine whether the harm rises to the level of persecution and if the government of the country from which the applicant hails is unable to protect the individual. Applicants may be eligible for asylum even if they weren’t persecuted in the past, but have a well-rounded fear of future persecution.
The guidance also provides techniques for interviewing LGBT asylum seekers. The module notes the presence of family members during questioning may be an impediment and reminds officers to be sensitive when asking about sexual assault.
Additionally, the guidance provides possible reasons for being exempt from the one-year filing deadline for applying for asylum. Under current rules, all asylum seekers, including those seeking asylum based on their status, must apply within one year of coming to the United States.
In the case of LGBT applicants, the guidance says possible reasons for granting an exemption from this deadline include a person recently “coming out” as LGBT; having recently taken steps to undergo gender transition; or severe family opposition to an applicant’s identity.
Grace Gomez, a straight Florida-based-lawyer who aids LGBT asylum seekers in the United States, said the guidance is a “good step” because it recognizes the issue, but more work is needed to assist LGBT people seeking asylum in the country.
“It’s good that they’re recognizing it, but it’s just guidelines,” Gomez said. “It’s not putting anything into actual law, or into effect. … It’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough. It’s a Band-Aid on a gushing wound, if you put it that way.”
Gomez has won cases for LGBT Jamaicans seeking asylum in the United States and refuge from violence and jail sentences that LGBT people face in their home country.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
Congress
Ogles faces bipartisan backlash over anti-gay social media post
Tenn. congressman blamed the comment on staffer
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who represents Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, is facing backlash from LGBTQ advocates and fellow Republicans after a social media post declared that “homosexuality has no place in America.”
“Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month,” the congressman wrote in a post on X that was later deleted.
According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 6.3 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ.
Following widespread criticism, Ogles removed the post and blamed it on a staff member.
“The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded,” Ogles said in a statement.
The Washington Blade reached out to Ogles’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Among those condemning the message was U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who called it “absolutely idiotic” in a social media post.
“Homosexuality exists. In America,” Lawler wrote on X. “In fact, Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and constituents who are gay and lesbian. It doesn’t make them less than or somehow unworthy of being an American.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also criticized Ogles’s remarks.
“For all of recorded history, homosexuals have been a part of humanity,” Cruz told TMZ DC. “I think the behavior of consenting adults is their business.”
Chris Sanders, the executive director for the Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Equality Project Foundation provided a statement to the Blade about Ogles’s comment.
“The Tennessee Nuclear Family Month resolution has really backfired on conservatives by ensnaring Congressman Ogles in scandal. He used the resolution as a pretext to say that our community doesn’t belong in America, resulting in incredible backlash from across the partisan divide,” Sanders said. “It is a good opportunity for him to pause and reflect on whether it’s time for him to resign. Fighting one’s own constituents is not the purpose of serving in Congress.”
Human Rights Campaign Senior Press Secretary Jarred Keller provided a statement to the Blade regarding Ogles’s comments.
“LGBTQ+ people are woven into the fabric of America, and any politician who questions that is severely out of touch with reality. When so many people are worried about whether they can afford gas to get to work or groceries for their families, the last thing we need is right-wing Republicans targeting marginalized communities with hateful attacks,” Keller said. “Representative Ogles should spend less time attacking LGBTQ+ people and start addressing the issues that actually matter, because last I checked, our community isn’t the reason families are struggling to make ends meet.”
The controversy comes as Tennessee continues to advance legislation affecting LGBTQ residents. The state already has several laws on the books that LGBTQ advocates have criticized, including the Adult Entertainment Act, enacted in 2023, which restricts certain “adult cabaret performances.”
Lawmakers have also introduced additional measures this legislative session, including the “No Pride Flag or Month Act,” which would prohibit state employees, volunteers, and agents from displaying Pride flags or participating in Pride observances while acting in an official capacity.
Another proposal, the “Banning Bostock Act” would seek to limit the application of state anti-discrimination protections based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Tennessee lawmakers have also passed other measures restricting LGBTQ rights and access to gender-affirming health care.
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