A couple of days ago the Washington Post published a lengthy feature article about how it is becoming increasingly difficult for gays and lesbians from Latin countries to seek asylum in the US. The reason seems to revolve around increasing tolerance for homosexuality in countries south of the border.
Asylees are immigrants who get to the US under their own steam (as opposed to refugees who we fly here at taxpayer expense), and claim they are persecuted for one of many reasons in their birth country. There are special lawyers in the US who then help them stay permanently. Asylees are helped just like refugees with all sorts of special government forms of welfare. I am assuming the taxpayer helps with the medical expenses of those with HIV.
… as Mexico and other Latin American countries begin to liberalize laws regarding homosexuality, hold gay pride events and expand treatment for people with AIDS, it is becoming increasingly difficult to win such cases, say asylum applicants, U.S. lawyers and Latino activists.
“For a time, it seemed like it was a slam-dunk if you were gay, from Mexico and filed for asylum in the United States,” said Arthur S. Leonard, a professor at New York Law School. “But there’s been a turning point. The gay rights movement has started to make progress in Mexico, and it’s a little harder to show” that asylum is warranted, he said.
The subtle, unofficial shift in immigration policy has significant public health implications, say leaders throughout the region who view asylum as a path to better treatment of people with HIV. Though many applaud the progress on gay rights and AIDS care, they caution that it may take decades to reverse deeply ingrained attitudes toward homosexuality that are closely connected to the spread of HIV in the region.
I’m wondering how the government and these asylum lawyers know if the immigrant claiming asylum is telling the truth. Couldn’t an illegal immigrant coming across the border just say he is gay? Surely no one checks behind closed doors.
For more on this issue and the loosening of immigration laws to allow HIV positive immigrants into the US see this earlier post.