ON THE LGBT IMMIGRANT - UUA

A WORLD REPORT

ON THE

LGBT IMMIGRANT

EXPERIENCE

by BOBBY STEGGERT

under the supervision of JAMILA HAMMAMI, MSW

for the QUEER DETAINEE EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

3

PART ONE ? HOME

5

LAWS

6

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SODOMY

10

TRANS LAWS

15

THE IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONAL HOMOPHOBIA

18

CULTURAL HOMOPHOBIA

21

HOMOPHOBIA IN LATIN AMERICA

25

ATTITUDES ABOUT TRANSGENDERISM

27

STIGMA AND SICKNESS

35

STIGMA AND HEALTH CARE

38

CULTURAL VALUES TO CONSIDER

41

THE FAMILY SYSTEM

44

THE SHIFTING FUNCTION OF MARRIAGE

46

FAMILY TRUST

48

HONOR AND SHAME

50

THE INFLUENCE OF GOD

53

DOUBLE LIVES

55

PART TWO ? FLIGHT

57

INTRODUCTION

58

TERMS & DEFINITIONS

59

REFUGEES

61

REFUGE IN KENYA?

63

THE GAY PURGE IN CHECHNYA

67

FLEEING FROM CENTRAL AMERICA

69

THE MIDDLE EAST

71

TRUMP'S TRAVEL BAN

72

PART THREE ? INTEGRATION

75

A BRIEF HISTORY OF QUEER IMMIGRATION IN THE U.S.

76

ASYLUM

79

THE BURDEN OF PROOF

85

THE PRECARIOUS LABEL OF BISEXUAL

87

UNDOCUMENTED AND QUEER

88

DACA

91

DETENTION

94

CULTURE SHOCK

98

RECOGNIZING COMPLEX TRAUMA

100

RACISM IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY

102

SAFER SEX IN AMERICA

104

INTRODUCTION

As Americans, we tend to view the world through our own lens, often forgetting that our particular history, culture, traditions, and dominant influence in the world are unique to us. It is no different with the LGBT experience.

While the United States is certainly not the world leader in the fight for gender and sexual equality, LGBT Americans experience an ever-growing freedom as compared to a majority of other communities abroad. One might assume that immigration to the United States is the happy ending for internationals who have fled their country for the relative freedom of a more tolerant place. But there are many circumstances, past and present, which contribute to a much more complex reality.

It begins with home - a place that traditionally represents safety and belonging, a "temple of the familiar"1 - but that for many LGBT immigrants is the opposite - isolating, dangerous, and sometimes deadly.

Although international queer experiences can be similar, especially under common cultural or religious influence, each individual's relationship to their home communities, their particular journey to the United States, and their sexual and gender identity and expression will be unique to them.

Some come to the U.S. on student or tourist visas, some as refugees. Others seek asylum at a port of entry - an arduous process that can last years, and that often results in detainment. Still others are undocumented, risking imprisonment and potential deportation every day.

It is also important to note that integration into American society does not necessarily imply an escape from the past.

LGBT individuals find freedom in the United States, but they may carry with them a history of complex trauma. They've spent a lifetime navigating

1 (Hardy, 2017)

severe cultural messaging that is just as difficult to abandon as it was to leave their homes in the first place. Many immigrants of color confront racism in surprising new ways. Some feel alienated from local immigrant communities that can be just as homophobic as their counterparts at home.

Often, an open examination of identity happens for the first time in their lives. Culture shock can combine with a new sense of freedom that puts these individuals at higher risk for negative health outcomes such as HIV and substance use disorders. To compound the risks, many individuals experience a mistrust of health and service providers for fear of the discrimination they may have received in such interactions at home.

This handbook does not attempt to address any of these issues. Nor does it intend to identify this population only by their struggles. In fact, you will learn that LGBT immigrants have much to teach about resilience, perseverance, and hope as they begin new lives armed with hard won wisdom and perspective.

The goal here is to give the reader a comprehensive and multilayered portrait of the many possible factors that may have brought these individuals to this moment.

With context and awareness, it's a place to start.

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