National Center for LGBTQ Rights Condemns Decision Allowing Discriminatory Enforcement Tactics 

SAN FRANCISCO – The National Center for LGBTQ Rights condemns the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision to lift restrictions on federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, warning that the ruling will place LGBTQ asylum seekers at unprecedented risk of discrimination, violence, and deportation to countries where they face persecution or death. The Court’s ruling allows federal agents to resume “roving patrols” and conduct immigration stops based on factors including appearance, language, occupation, and location – tactics that a federal judge had previously found violated the Constitution based on “a mountain of evidence” of discriminatory enforcement.  

“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a devastating blow to LGBTQ asylum seekers who have already endured unimaginable persecution and violence,” said Imani Rupert-Gordon, President of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. “By green-lighting discriminatory profiling tactics, the Court has essentially given immigration agents a license to target the most vulnerable members of our community.”  

Many LGBTQ asylum seekers flee countries where being LGBTQ is criminalized and sometimes punishable by death. Deportation can be a death sentence. 

The National Center for LGBTQ Rights is calling on the broader LGBTQ community and allies to take immediate action to stop this egregious abuse, including demanding immigration reform that protects LGBTQ asylum seekers and supporting organizations providing legal aid and services to LGBTQ immigrants. 

“The LGBTQ community knows what it means to face persecution and discrimination,” said Noemi Calonje, Hogar {Home} Director. “We cannot stand silent while our most vulnerable community members are hunted down and sent back to face torture or death. This is a moment that demands our collective action and solidarity.” 

More than half of LGBTQ asylum seekers come from Central America’s Northern Triangle, where they face systematic violence, discrimination, and persecution. A 2021 study found that 1.3 million adult immigrants in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ, including 289,700 who are undocumented. The Supreme Court’s decision lifts a temporary restraining order that had prohibited federal agents from conducting immigration stops based solely on race, ethnicity, language, occupation, or location. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent: “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job.”  

The National Center for LGBTQ Rights will continue fighting these discriminatory enforcement practices in court and advocating for policies that protect all LGBTQ people, regardless of immigration status.  

About the National Center for LGBTQ Rights: Founded in 1977, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education.  

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