Topic: LGBTQ Refugees

Oct 22, 2015

In a little-noticed shift, the Obama administration has taken steps to ensure that the long-term relationships of couples who were not able to be legally married in their home countries or while in flight are nevertheless recognized by the U.S. family reunification program. “Refugees with same-sex partners will finally have the opportunity to reunite with them and to make their families whole again,” said HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield.

Sep 8, 2014

Throughout the interview she managed to remain candid and confident, even hopeful, as she told me about her dreams of going to school for design and starting a career in fashion.

May 15, 2014

The application for my clients–a gay married couple from Jamaica seeking asylum in the U.S–runs 50 pages. It is the product of hours of the hard but rewarding assistance I provide as a staff attorney for HIAS. Thanks to someone like me, who also worked for HIAS, my great-grandmother, my family's matriarch, came to the U.S. in 1919. I wonder what she would make of my clients’ application.

Jan 13, 2014

Raising the Red Flag on LGBTI Asylum Obstacles in the U.S. Jan 13, 2014 HIAS works diligently to defend LGBTI refugees from the Middle East and Africa. With 76 countries having severe criminal penalties for being gay, the most vulnerable group in the world today is refugees who are sexual minorities. They are the marginalized […]

Nov 27, 2013

New UNHCR Legal Guidelines Step Forward for LGBTI Refugees By Rachel Levitan Nov 27, 2013 This year’s historic election-day wins in Maryland, Maine, and Washington supporting gay marriage are emblematic of the dramatic strides that the U.S. has taken to recognize the social and legal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals. […]