Washington D.C. - As federal funding debates continue, a small group of senators are demanding changes to asylum and immigration policy in exchange for funding to aid Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. These changes are being disguised as “border security measures,” however, they would eliminate essential protections for people seeking asylum—protections that have been in place for decades– and cause harmful confusion and disruption at the U.S.- Mexico Border.  The proposed changes would implement a so-called “safe third country rule” that would bar asylum applications from individuals who traveled through more than one country before reaching the […]

After a lifetime of hardship, Sammie, an NCLR Immigration Project client, has finally found a new sense of community and belonging with the SF-based organization El/La Para TransLatinas. Sammie has agreed to share her story of resiliency with us so that we might all learn and be moved by her words.

SUMMARY OF ISSUE In early June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) proposed a new rule that would effectively destroy the asylum process in the United States. This rule would make it almost impossible for survivors of gender-based violence – including women, and LGBTQ+ people, especially those […]

“Perseverance in almost any plan is better than fickleness and fluctuation”—Alexander Hamilton When we adopted our NCLR tag line—”The audacity to fight for justice, the perseverance to win”—it was before President Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope” and years before the cultural phenomenon that is “Hamilton” ushered in a refreshed examination of Alexander Hamilton’s writings. […]

We know that having one-on-one conversations about equality is one of the best ways to change hearts and minds. Our work around marriage showed us that when we reach out, listen, and share our stories we can create monumental change towards a more just community. Now we have an amazing new opportunity to create that […]

“…Later that night I held an atlas in my lap ran my fingers across the whole world and whispered where does it hurt? it answered everywhere everywhere everywhere” —Warsan Shire   Two days after a sniper killed five Dallas police officers, this poem, by expat Somali poet Warsan Shire, who came to world’s attention when […]

“So, you’re a lawyer, right?” The question came from my hairdresser, Tony, as I sat down for a haircut. “Do you know anything about immigration?” I knew a little bit about Tony’s story. His parents brought him to the U.S. illegally when he was a young child so that he and his siblings could have […]

  The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) has joined a coalition of more than 300 civil rights, immigration, labor, and social service groups in an amicus brief in U.S. v. Texas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow President Obama’s executive actions on immigration to move forward. The filing of the amicus brief comes […]

Over the past holiday weekend, as many of us relaxed with our families and celebrated the beginning of a new year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided the homes of Central American refugees in Texas, Georgia and North Carolina and arrested 121 people, many of them mothers with young children. Sadly, there is nothing […]

As a kid, I never dared to dream I’d be where I’m at today—starting my first day of law school at the University of San Francisco and looking forward to a future as an attorney helping immigrants whose stories are similar to my own. It was just three years ago that I lived my life […]

A nationwide survey released this week on recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows eligible unauthorized immigrants who entered the country as children to apply for work permits and relief from deportation, illustrates the program’s impact on national employment, wages and education. The survey shows the broad economic and societal […]

Though domestic violence is a serious problem in countries all over the world, not all governments offer help and assistance to survivors of domestic violence. And even in countries where survivors can seek help, LGBTQ survivors of domestic violence may not be able to come forward due to fear of persecution and discrimination by governments […]

Over the past few days, cities across the country have come to the support of the unaccompanied minors who have fled Central America to immigrate into the United States. Today, the City and County of San Francisco joins these cities. In a unanimous decision, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution sponsored by […]

And Sam Ames, Esq. NCLR Staff Attorney For the past 5 days, we have eaten nothing. We continue to work, drinking only water. We continue to prepare food for our families, and we watch our colleagues eat at lunch. Sometimes it’s hard, but we are committed to fasting because we are committed to Fast for […]

Listening to President Obama speak yesterday on the need for comprehensive immigration reform in San Francisco’s Chinatown made me realize how my own relationship as an immigrant in this country has come full circle. I grew up in the small border town of McAllen, Texas, located in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. […]

Yesterday, President Obama brought together a coalition of immigration reform advocates—including NCLR—and gave his first address on immigration reform since Congress finally ended the government shutdownand cleared the way to reengage with the rest of its legislative agenda. His message to Congress on this crucial issue was simple and clear: “It’s time,” he declared to […]

I never thought that in my lifetime I would live to see the incredible progress the LGBTQ movement has experienced in just the last few months. So many have been working for decades to reach this moment, but even for those of us doing this work, the gains of the past year have been breathtaking. […]

As Congress considers overhauling and repairing our broken immigration system, NCLR has been committed to identifying areas where LGBTQ immigrants are especially vulnerable and working to ensure those issues are addressed. Detention facilities and standards for transgender detainees is one such area of heightened vulnerability. Immigrants in the U.S. are detained in detention facilities for […]

I, like all of you, have felt the heaviness borne of mindless violence and tragedy in the wake of the bombings in Boston. My birthday was April 15, and now that date will be remembered for yet another national horror. In the days since the attack, I can’t help but think about the very different […]

I have been lucky enough to have had many mentors who led by modeling the adage “we are all in this together.” At a time of such tremendous gains for the LGBTQ community in this country, I am mindful every day of the importance of that mindset. There is an often unseen—but nevertheless unbreakable—link between […]