Gay immigrants in U.S. deserve protection

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender immigrants from across the globe. Some have been beaten and jailed in their native countries for daring to hold a loved one's hand in public. Others have hidden who they are for years, fearing that they would be shunned by their families and communities. Many have come to America in search of freedom, equality and acceptance.

This week, President Obama sent an important message to LGBT people here and across the globe. He directed federal agencies to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons. In his announcement, he reiterated his belief that "no country should deny people their rights because of who[m] they love." We applaud the goal of these new international initiatives to combat foreign governments' criminalization of LGBT status and to combat discrimination, homophobia and intolerance.

Yet, the U.S. government's expressed commitment to human rights abroad stands in stark contrast with the plight of LGBT immigrants in this country. Under U.S. immigration laws, LGBT individuals are denied basic rights because of whom they love.

For example, immigrants may be deported and permanently separated from their same-sex spouses or partners without legal recourse. It does not matter to the U.S. government how long couples have been together or how the lives that they have built together would be shattered by forced separation. Moreover, LGBT refugees seeking safe haven in the United States often find that our system of justice is not how they imagined it would be.

They may be forced to "prove" their sexual orientation or gender identity to skeptical U.S. Asylum Officers or immigration judges. This is a demeaning experience for many LGBT individuals whose very existences have repeatedly been called into question or denied by their families and communities.

In addition, U.S. courts have become increasingly hostile to LGBT refugees seeking asylum in the country, pointing to purported human rights advancements in other countries. Yet, too often, there is a focus on the narrow question of whether it is technically "legal" to be gay, lesbian or transgender in another country, without acknowledging the genuine peril faced by LGBT persons who live with the omnipresent threat of violence in their homes, in their workplaces or walking on the street.

While we hope that the Obama administration's newly announced foreign initiatives will help bring about much-needed change across the globe, we urge our elected officials to safeguard the human rights of LGBT people here and abroad. Our moral authority on the world stage will only be enhanced if we lead by example and ensure that no country, including the United States, denies people their rights because of whom they love.

Philip Hwang is the director of policy and programs at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Noemi Calonje is the Immigration Project director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Posted in: pro-immigration, sex-trafficking bill, U.S. Citizenship, u.s. immigration law