Article: LGBTQ/Asylum
Source: Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/numbers-growing-number-gays-lesbians-asylum-u-s-challenges-immigrants-remain-article-1.1046713

By the numbers: Growing number of gays and lesbians getting asylum in U.S. but challenges for immigrants remain 

Despite dire conditions, advocates say they haven't been able to help large numbers of immigrants from countries with the harshest anti-gay laws

BY ERICA PEARSON / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2012, 8:28 AM

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ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES

Rachel Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality.

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In Mauritania, a Muslim man caught having sex with another man faces death by stoning.

In Kenya, consensual sex between two men is punishable by five years in prison.

But despite dire conditions, advocates at gay and lesbian group Immigration Equality say they haven’t been able to help large numbers of immigrants from those countries and others with the world’s harshest anti-gay laws.

“One of the Catch-22’s of asylum law is that people need to get to the U.S. to apply,” said Victoria Neilson of Immigration Equality, which won 105 cases for clients from 41 different countries last year.

Although they did win two cases for immigrants from Mauritania last year, the greatest number of the group’s clients each year come from the Caribbean. That’s partly because it’s easiest for immigrants from the island countries to make it here.

Another barrier is time. After immigrants flee to the U.S., they have just one year to apply for asylum.

There are some ways to get around the bar. Because an HIV diagnosis can be so life-changing, the feds have agreed to make an exception in certain cases.

Last year, Neilson’s group won 32 asylum cases for HIV-positive clients.

The argument for extending the deadline is now officially recognized. In December, United States Customs and Immigration Services included it in a new training guide for asylum officers about claims based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“The HIV diagnosis may be ‘the last straw,’” causing the applicant to realize that returning to the country of origin would be a ‘death sentence.’” the booklet reads.

The guide also makes clear that officers are not supposed to use whether or not an immigrant “looks gay” to determine whether or not they deserve asylum.