The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision on September 8, lifting a lower court order that had restricted immigration agents (such as ICE) from conducting “roving” immigration patrols in Los Angeles.
That decision could potentially place LGBTQ+ asylum seekers at unprecedented risk of discrimination, violence, and deportation to countries where they face persecution or death. The Court’s ruling allows federal agents to resume the patrols and conduct immigration stops based on factors including appearance, language, occupation, and location – tactics that a federal judge had previously found violated the Constitution based on “a mountain of evidence” of discriminatory enforcement.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a devastating blow to LGBTQ asylum seekers who have already endured unimaginable persecution and violence,” said Imani Rupert-Gordon, President of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR). “By green-lighting discriminatory profiling tactics, the Court has essentially given immigration agents a license to target the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Many LGBTQ+ asylum seekers flee countries where being LGBTQ+ is criminalized and sometimes punishable by death. Deportation can be a death sentence.
The National Center for LGBTQ Rights is calling on the broader LGBTQ+ community and allies to take immediate action to stop this egregious abuse, including demanding immigration reform that protects LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and supporting organizations providing legal aid and services to LGBTQ+ immigrants.
“The LGBTQ community knows what it means to face persecution and discrimination,” said Noemi Calonje, the Director of NCLR’s Immigration & Asylum Program. “We cannot stand silent while our most vulnerable community members are hunted down and sent back to face torture or death. This is a moment that demands our collective action and solidarity.”
More than half of LGBTQ asylum seekers come from Central America’s Northern Triangle, where they face violence, discrimination and persecution. A 2021 study found that 1.3 million adult immigrants in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ, including 289,700 who are undocumented. The Supreme Court’s decision lifts a temporary restraining order that prohibited federal agents from conducting immigration stops based solely on race, ethnicity, language, occupation or location. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent: “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish and appears to work a low wage job.”
Photo of Justice Sonia Sotomayor appears through use of Creative Commons license.
