Supporting persecuted LGBTQ individuals in need of asylum

In many of these countries, LGBTQ people not only fear extreme vigilante violence, but also legal consequences like incarceration, involuntary mental health institutionalization, involuntary castration and the death penalty. Despite common perception that the status of LGBTQ individuals worldwide is improving, there is a significant disconnect between the laws on the books and the persecution that targeted groups still suffer, sometimes even at the hands of law enforcement. This dichotomy is so complex that even well-vetted human rights reports often don’t capture complete representations of LGBTQ individuals’ lived experiences in many countries, which can negatively influence the outcomes of asylum applications.

We regularly partner with legal services organizations including Immigration Equality, Human Rights First and the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York to represent LGBTQ refugees seeking sanctuary in the United States. The process of applying for asylum is extremely daunting for all refugees, but especially those LGBTQ individuals who are still grappling with trauma they have experienced related to their identity and coming out. Recently, after years of work, Davis Polk associates secured asylum for one of these refugees – a gender non-binary individual who was severely persecuted in Central America for their sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as their leadership in the LGBTQ and transgender rights communities. While living in their home country, our client was kidnapped and raped as well as assaulted multiple times, including by police officers who shouted slurs at them. In preparation for our client’s asylum trial this past spring, the involved associates worked extensively with the client, several affiants and an expert witness to develop a case that the judge noted was so detailed, credible and well-documented that it overcame the government’s objections. The judge went on to issue an asylum grant directly from the bench, and, as the record was so developed, the government had no option but to concede and waive appeal.

In a case that Pro Bono Counsel for Humanitarian Immigration Matters Nishan Bhaumik says “demonstrates the danger of simply being accused to be gay [in many countries],” our associates recently secured asylum for a client who escaped Ghana as a stowaway on a freight ship and entered the United States through the southern border. Our client took this harrowing journey because, although he does not identify as gay, he was accused of being such “and the label stuck. When out in public, he was repeatedly attacked by crowds and beaten to the point of needing to be hospitalized. Before escaping, the last assault he endured left him in a coma.”

In other similarly disturbing cases of LGBTQ individuals, Davis Polk associates have secured asylum for an Egyptian client who fled amidst government harassment of fellow LGBTQ individuals in his community; for a client from Kenya, who was almost burned alive in his home, beaten and raped; and for a client from Jamaica, which, despite a booming tourism industry catering to the United States and other developed, socially-progressive countries, is one of the deadliest places for the LGBTQ community.

To help as many refugees as possible, Davis Polk also regularly hosts LGBTQ asylum clinics offering limited-engagement legal guidance in New York City; these clinics are staffed by a rotating group of more than 100 lawyers from across our corporate and litigation practices. In the past year alone, our lawyers have assisted dozens of LGBTQ clients from countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, Syria and Tajikistan.