Fox News: "I'm a Gay Immigrant and Biden's New Ban Threatens Others Like Me"

In 2019 a kiss almost cost me my life. It was just a peck on my boyfriend’s lips as he left for work. But being a gay man in Guatemala City, Guatemala, that small display of affection attracted the attention of the police, who detained and beat me — and then, after I reported the officers responsible, threatened me and stalked me. Their threats forced me to flee.

Fortunately, I was able to pursue asylum in the United States. Today, three years later, I’m still in the asylum process, but am proudly working as a client services manager with Lawyers for Good Government’s Project Corazon in south Texas, helping other migrants seeking safety in America. My boyfriend, now my husband, has been able to join me and is working as a graphic designer. It hasn’t been easy starting over, but I’m grateful to live and love in safety.

None of this would have been possible, though, under new asylum rules proposed by President Joe Biden. The administration has announced its intentions to create a "transit ban," which blocks asylum seekers from gaining sanctuary in the United States if they pass through any other country on their way here. It’s a rekindling of Trump-era asylum policies, and one that makes it far harder for people like me to reach safety.

When I fled Guatemala, I didn’t immediately plan on coming to America. But as I frantically searched online for information about countries that might take me in, the only resources I found talked about the United States. In the rush to escape, I didn’t have time to ask questions: I grabbed a bag, crossed into Mexico, and began the long journey northward.

It took more than two weeks to reach Reynosa, on the U.S. border. Sometimes I walked for 12 hours at a stretch. When I finally arrived, I was kidnapped by criminals who held me for 21 days until my family was able to raise a ransom for my release.

Only then could I finally approach a U.S. border crossing and request asylum. But because of Trump’s so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), I was immediately sent back to Mexico to wait while my case was processed.

I spent over 18 months in a refugee camp in Matamoros, where I learned that in Mexico, just like in Guatemala, LGBTQ people often face discrimination and even physical harm. One transgender friend was forced into prostitution by criminal cartels while she waited for her asylum case to be heard.

It was clear to me that I was not safe in Mexico — not only because I was kidnapped, but also because of the persecution that LGBTQ migrants like me faced. My experiences in the refugee camp provide me with lived knowledge that requiring migrants to seek asylum in transit, before they reach the U.S., is inhumane and dangerous.

If I had sought asylum in Mexico, I would have been forced to remain in a country where I had already been kidnapped and subjected to homophobic abuse. Many other migrants — all with entirely legitimate reasons for fleeing their home country — would similarly be put at risk if they were required to seek refuge in countries they passed through.

The Biden administration expects people to seek asylum in the very first place they reach after leaving their home country. But countries have widely varying asylum systems, which are often hard to understand — especially for people who have had to drop everything and flee their home countries. In many cases — mine included! — asylum seekers are exploited by smugglers and traffickers, and pushed into dangerous routes to reach safety, without really knowing where they’re headed. It’s unrealistic and unfair to ask people in such circumstances to hit pause and follow a list of legalistic requirements, especially in countries where they still face harm.