FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2018
Contacts:
Lauren Gray, NCLR lgray@nclrights.org / (215) 983-3099
Trump’s Plan to Cut Off Access to Asylum is Illegal and Will Endanger LGBTQ Lives
Washington, D.C.—Yesterday, the Trump administration announced its intention to adopt a new federal rule preventing certain individuals who enter the U.S. from Mexico from seeking asylum.
For more than 20 years, NCLR has provided life-saving assistance to LGBTQ individuals seeking asylum, fleeing persecution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in their home countries.
NCLR Policy Counsel Tyrone Hanley issued the following statement in response:
“President Trump’s plan would not only unlawfully limit asylum but would rewrite the character of our nation. For generations, America has been a refuge for those fleeing persecution in their home countries.
“For many, asylum is a life and death matter. NCLR has worked with hundreds of LGBTQ asylum seekers who faced devastating physical and sexual violence in their home countries at the hands of the people and systems that should have protected them. Trump’s plan to refuse asylum seekers based on where they enter the U.S. is not only cruel but will be a death sentence for many in our community.”
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The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) was the first national LGBTQ legal organization founded by women and brings a fierce, longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and our community’s most vulnerable. Since 1977, we have been at the forefront of advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through impact litigation, public policy, and public education. Decades ago, NCLR launched the first LGBTQ Immigration Project, Transgender Rights Project, Youth Project, Elder Law Project, and began working to end conversion therapy through what is now our Born Perfect campaign. www.nclrights.org