ASISTA Honors LGBTQIA+ Immigrant Survivors:

By Ahlam Moussa

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June 22, 2023

Reflections and Resources

June 2023

This Pride month and every month, ASISTA celebrates the resilience and bravery of queer and trans immigrants who journey to find safety, love, and self-determination in this country. We also acknowledge that these promises are not always fulfilled, and that LGBTQ+ immigrant survivors face multiple barriers to living free from harm and violence in the United States.  

2023 has seen an explosion of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the United States. The frightening impact of this moment for LGBTQ+ immigrant survivors is compounded by the surge of anti-immigrant legislation. For example, in the past year, Florida has passed a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills banning gender affirming care, expanding the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” ban on discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public education, prohibiting gender inclusive restrooms, and permitting discrimination in healthcare. Compounding that harm, Florida’s recent, sweeping anti-immigrant legislation requires, among numerous other provisions designed to create a chilling and inhospitable climate for immigrants, that hospitals collect immigration status information from patients, and law enforcement agencies coordinate with federal immigration enforcement even in the course of initial emergency responses. 

We know that these measures inevitably fall hardest on undocumented LGBTQ+ immigrant survivors of violence and undermine an already tenuous trust in service providers, thus deepening the isolation of survivors living in dangerous circumstances. We know that when intimate partner violence occurs, and homophobia and threats of deportation are weaponized against them in the criminal legal system, queer and trans immigrant survivors experience especially harmful consequences. ASISTA is proud to work with partners who address these concerns with compassion and respect, and celebrates our members who provide respectful and affirming services directly to LGBTQIA+ immigrants. 

As challenging as this moment is, we also recognize the healing power of community. During the recent week of remembrance, the Orlando Museum of Art unveiled a mural in honor of the victims and survivors of the Pulse massacre that killed 49 mostly queer and trans Latinx people in 2016. Having just held our pre-AILA conference in Orlando this week (recordings to follow), and connected with some of the amazing advocates for immigrant survivors in Florida, ASISTA is proud to work alongside all of you for a better world everywhere. 

Because these issues are central to effective advocacy, we are sharing these toolkits for addressing hate and intimate partner violence in LGBTQIA+ communities from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, which is coordinated by a longtime ASISTA member, the NYC Anti-Violence Project. 

In addition, in case you missed it, last year for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, ASISTA presented a webinar with guest speaker Lynly Egyes of Transgender Law Center on best practices for working with LGBTQ+ immigrants who have experienced gender-based violence such as domestic violence or trafficking, with special attention to LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors who have or fear being harmed by the criminal legal system. Additional national resources for LGBTQIA+ immigrants include Transgender Law Center, Immigration Equality, and Lambda Legal.

Recent Posts

ASISTA Practice Alert: USCIS Extreme Vetting Policies and Their Implication for Immigrant Survivors (Dec. 12, 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • December 12, 2025
This Practice Alert summarizes USCIS’s new extreme vetting policies, including broad adjudication holds, re-review of previously approved cases, and heightened discretionary scrutiny, and explains their serious implications for immigrant survivors seeking safety and stability. It also provides practical guidance for practitioners on preparing clients for the impact of these measures and on developing case strategies and potential legal challenges.

ASISTA Practice Alert: Impact of HR-1 on Trafficking Survivors (Oct. 1, 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • December 12, 2025
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed HR-1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), which significantly impacts immigrant survivors of human trafficking. The law imposes new filing fees for immigration benefits, motions, and appeals before USCIS and EOIR, establishes additional financial penalties for certain immigration violations, and eliminates eligibility for a range of federal public benefits for many immigrants who were previously considered “qualified,” including trafficking survivors. This Practice Alert reviews these fee and penalty changes, explains the new restrictions on public benefits, and outlines the impact on trafficking survivors seeking T visas and other forms of humanitarian relief, offering guidance for practitioners on how to mitigate the law’s potential harms.

Amicus Briefs on Birthright Citizenship Executive Order (Spring 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • June 11, 2025
In May and June 2025, ASISTA joined partners at Boston College School of Law, Harbor COV, and Tahirih to submit an amicus briefs to the First and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals in cases challenging the executive order on birthright citizenship. ASISTA and partners highlighted the importance of maintaining a preliminary injunction against implementing the order. If the order were implemented, many immigrant mothers of U.S.-born children would only be able to prove their child’s citizenship by submitting documentation about the child’s father’s immigration status. For survivors of intimate partner violence, just knowing the need for this documentation could make it difficult or impossible to leave the abusive relationship. For survivors of sexual assault or trafficking, contacting the perpetrator for the paperwork could put them and their families in immediate physical danger. Using real-life examples, the brief illustrates the stakes if immigrant parents were forced to choose between maintaining their safety and establishing their children’s rights. It urges the court not let this become reality. Read the First Circuit Brief, Doe v. Trump , here ; read the Fourth Circuit Brief, Casa, Inc., et al. v. Trump , here .

Alien Enemies Act Alert (May 29, 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • May 30, 2025
On March 14, 2025, President Trump attempted to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify carrying out deportations without the due process of immigration proceedings. Since then, multiple federal courts have ruled the invocation was unlawful, but the government continues to fight for its usage, including before the U.S. Supreme Court. On May 16, 2025, the Supreme Court maintained a temporary prohibition on the deportations planned in Texas and sent the issue back to the lower courts. ASISTA celebrates the positive rulings but notes with condemnation that the push against them is ongoing. Check ASISTA’s alert: The Fight to Protect Survivors from the Alien Enemies Act Continue.

ASISTA Practice Alert: USCIS Wet Ink Signature RFEs & NOIDs (April 24, 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • April 28, 2025
Practitioners have reported receiving RFEs and NOIDs in cases submitted with electronically reproduced signatures for original, wet ink signatures where USCIS has requested the original, wet ink signatures. This Practice Alert describes what USCIS’ current signature policy is and what options practitioners have in these cases.