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...
Our Voices
John Doe is a transgender student at West Point High School. Despite repeated requests from John and school administrators, John’s French teacher, Peter Vlaming, refused to use male pronouns when referring to John. Vlaming used female pronouns when referring to John on multiple occasions, both in class and during conversations with John’s classmates. His refusal to use the correct pronouns jeopardized John’s privacy by disclosing that John is transgender to his classmates, some of whom did not...
Edi Hogsett and Marcia Neale were a same-sex couple who were together for thirteen years. When their relationship ended, they jointly sought a dissolution of a common law marriage. Later, Marcia argued that she and Edi were not actually married, in part because they could not have legally married prior to marriage equality. The trial court found that the couple was not in a common law marriage, and a Colorado Court of Appeals agreed, but noted that same-sex couples should be able to enter into...
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...
On December 2, 2019, NCLR filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of 24 national LGBTQ organizations in the case June Medical Services v. Russo. The case involves a challenge to a law in Louisiana that would force all but one abortion clinic in that state to close, a law that is virtually identical to one in Texas that the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional just three years ago in the landmark case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The brief, filed by...
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...
On June 15, 2020, in a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 6-3 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace, protects LGBTQ employees. The Court’s ruling established that Title VII’s sex discrimination provisions also protect workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The decision has broad implications for many aspects of federal anti-discrimination law, because other federal...
E.J.K. is Ms. Calgaro’s transgender daughter. E.J.K. was forced to leave home at fifteen-years old because she was being physically and emotionally mistreated by her mother and step-father. While living on her own, E.J.K. sought mental health, and eventually medical, treatment for her gender dysphoria. When Ms. Calgaro found out that E.J.K. began accessing transition-related care, she sued St. Louis County for providing E.J.K. with medicaid benefits and E.J.K.’s medical providers...
Jane Doe is the mother of three children in a rural community in the Midwest. From a young age, Jane’s middle child expressed that they may be transgender. Jane sought the advice of professionals on how to respond to her child’s statements. Those professionals reiterated the importance of supporting the child. Following that advice, Jane started using a new name for her child and bought the child clothes that were more consistent with the child’s gender identity. The local...
