A look at LGBTQ migration

Greetings readers,

For the past few months I have been working on two long term reports on LGBTQ migration — one based off a Freedom of Information Act request I submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and another off the story of an HIV-positive migrant from Venezuela who has been stuck in Mexico since last October.

For the first story, I requested that U.S. immigration authorities tell me everything they could about LGBTQ people who came to the U.S. and requested asylum due to persecution they faced for their sexuality or gender identity.

It took over a year for USCIS to return the data, and then, more time to work with NBC News’ data team to understand what it all means.

The data we ended up publishing had never been seen before: the actual number and countries of origin of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer asylum seekers at a time when migration surged overall.

For the second story, I spent a few months interviewing a migrant who has found himself stuck on the wrong end of Trump administration immigration policies. In the middle of his time stuck south of the U.S. border, COVID-19 emerged, further complicating his migration plans.

I hope you will take the time to read part 1 and part 2 of my short series on LGBTQ migration.

Sincerely,

Tim

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