Our Voices
A.E. is a gay man from Honduras who immigrated to the US in 2006. He has spent over 10 years of overcoming hardship and recovering from past trauma, including being targeted by violence and death threats in Honduras because of his sexual orientation. A.E. is now thriving and has a wonderful husband who was included in his asylum petition. With much preparation work from NCLR and a lot of emotional investment from A.E. and his husband, they were able to present their case at the asylum office,...
J. is a gay man in his twenties from Mexico who has a disability. He and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2018 and were apprehended at the border. They were placed in detention and most of his family was sent back to Mexico. However, he and his sister who has a small child were allowed to stay and were able to apply for asylum. J’s case was heard by an Immigration Judge in San Francisco. With the assistance of Chelsea HaleyNelson, of counsel, NCLR was able to prepare J. for his...
In 2019, NCLR was able to assist at least 15 clients get their legal permanent residency or “green cards.” These are a vital protection for our asylum and U visa clients. Legal permanent residency allows our clients greater freedom of movement and protections for their legal status in this country, and provides a measure of security that less permanent statuses do not. For many of our immigration clients, legal permanent residency lets them begin a new chapter of their lives and...
Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks are a married same-sex couple who had twins through surrogacy in Canada, where they live. Each of them is the genetic father of one of the twins, but both fathers are legally-recognized as parents of the twins. Elad is an Israeli citizen and Andrew is a U.S. and Canadian dual citizen. The U.S. Consulate refused to recognize both twins as U.S. citizens because one child is not genetically tied to Andrew. The U.S. Government appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which upheld...
J.A. is a transgender man from Mexico who was the survivor of a violent robbery in San Francisco. Because he cooperated with police in investigating that robbery, he was eligible for a U Visa, which protects immigrants who are victims of certain crimes in the U.S.. and who assist in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. J.A. is also a survivor of significant trauma and severe family rejection in Mexico, and, because of the effects of that trauma and rejection and lack of legal...
D.S. is a transgender woman from Mexico who came to the U.S. over 20 years ago. She faced severe persecution in Mexico because of her gender expression and perceived sexual orientation, including physical and sexual violence. Even after fleeing to the U.S., she continued to hide who she was, as she was living in a town with no visible LGBTQ community, and because of the lingering effects of the trauma she experienced. In early 2019, she moved to San Francisco, where she finally was able to...
