Human Capital - Career Trends

LEONARDO FREITAS

CEO, Hayman-Woodward

DIGNITY, AND RESPECT

Leonardo Freitas, CEO

"Pride Month" offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made as a Nation in the fight for justice, inclusion, and equality while reaffirming our commitment to do more to support LGBTQI+ rights at home and abroad.

It has been over 25 years since Fidel Armando Toboso Alfonso, a gay man from Cuba, was granted withholding deportation in the United States based on his sexual orientation (1).

The Toboso-Alfonso decision paved the way for hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and individuals with intersex conditions (LGBTQI+) to obtain refugee and asylum status in the United States. In 2011, the United Nations marked another "significant milestone in the long struggle for equality, and the beginning of a universal recognition that LGBT[LGBTQI+] persons are endowed with the same inalienable rights – and entitled to the same protections – as all human beings" (2) by passing a Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity.

In 2013, the Supreme Court held that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which had limited the terms "marriage" and "spouse" to opposite-sex

marriage for purposes of federal law was unconstitutional. (3) Then, in 2015, the Supreme Court struck down state laws denying marriage licenses to couples of the same sex, legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States. (4) Legally valid marriages between couples of the same sex are now treated the same as all other marriages under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for all purposes, including the processing of derivative refugees and asylees under INA 207 and 208. (5)

Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate (RAIO Directorate) officers are trained to interview LGBTQI+ applicants and analyze their claims. This training increases awareness about the issues "sexual minorities" face, fosters discussion about LGBTQI+ issues, and provides consistent legal and interview guidance.

Officers are specifically trained in the interview environment that allows applicants to freely discuss the elements and details of their claims and identify issues related to sexual orientation or imputed sexual orientation. The training prepares them (adjudicating officers) to interact more meaningfully with LGBTQI+ applicants during an interview. They must also become well-versed in the country of origin information, allowing these officers to ask relevant follow-up questions.

LGBTQI+ people face generalized and unique vulnerabilities that cause many to leave their country of origin and seek refuge in another. Consensual same-sex conduct remains criminalized in 69 countries, and 11 countries could impose the death penalty if convicted.

Such legal contexts are associated with lower social acceptance of LGBTQI+ people, which can marginalize individuals' sexual orientation or gender identity and create environments that fuel violence and discrimination against LGBTQI+ people based on fear and stigma.

Even where same-sex conduct is not criminalized, research shows that many

LGBTQI+ people face persecution and violence, including domestic violence, rape, and murder, as well as discrimination in areas like education, employment, housing, and healthcare.

LGBTQI+ people who are excluded from housing and employment through discrimination may be forced to take jobs in the informal economy, such as sex work, where they may be more vulnerable to exploitation and violence.

Little information exists about the number and characteristics of LGBTQI+ asylum seekers in the United States.

Using Asylum Prescreening System data from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), a report released on March 2021 by UCLA - The Williams Institute, a leading research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law public policy, gives us some insights. Between 2007 and 2017, at least 4,385 fear claims that led to interviews by asylum officers were coded as related to LGBTQI+ status.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS CRIMINALIZED IN 69 COUNTRIES AND AS MANY AS 11 COUNTRIES COULD IMPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY IF CONVICTED.

EVEN WHERE SAME-SEX CONDUCT IS NOT CRIMINALIZED, RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MANY LGBTQI+ PEOPLE FACE PERSECUTION AND VIOLENCE, INCLUDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, RAPE, AND MURDER, AS WELL AS DISCRIMINATION IN AREAS LIKE EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, AND HEALTHCARE.

While claimants originated from 84 countries, over half (51.3%) were from the Northern Triangle region of Central America: El Salvador (28.0%), Honduras (14.9%), and Guatemala (8.4%). Significant proportions also were from Mexico (12.1%) and Ghana (7.8%).

Note: The 2021 USCIS Statistical Annual Report has not been published.

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According to the 2020 USCIS Statistical Annual Report:

Mexico” immigration policy originated under the Trump administration. The ruling was 5-4 and states that immigration law gives the federal government the discretion to end the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the relevant immigration statute “plainly confers a discretionary authority to return aliens to Mexico during the pendency of their immigration proceedings.”

USCIS received about 7.7 million applications, petitions, and requests for benefits in fiscal year (FY) 2020, the lowest number of receipts in the last five years. This decrease was by a significant decline in receipts during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 when USCIS closed field offices to the public.

The number of credible fear referrals received by USCIS decreased dramatically in FY 2020 by 71% from FY 2019, from 105,400 to 30,800. Likewise, the number of screenings completed by USCIS officers also fell in FY 2020 from a high in FY 2019 of 102,300 to 33,600 in FY 2020. Similarly, the number of reasonable fear referrals received fell in FY 2020 to 8,700 (down from 11,100 in FY 2019); USCIS officers completed 7,500 reasonable fear cases, down from 11,800 in FY 2020.

On June 30th, 2022, as we close this edition of our magazine, the SCOTUS gave President Joe Biden the green light to end the controversial “Remain in

“The use of the word ‘may” in” the law question, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “makes clear that contiguous-territory return is a tool that the (DHS) Secretary ‘has the authority, but not the duty,’ to use.” In the coming months, we expect additional information and clarity on the next steps, although undoubtedly good news for LGBTQI+ asylum seekers.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday, June 30th, 2022, that it welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision that it “has the discretionary authority to terminate the program, and we will continue our efforts to terminate the program as soon as legally permissible.”

In the statement, DHS also said it will continue to punish immigrants who enter the country illegally and enforce Title 42, the emergency health order that immigration officials have used to quickly expel a majority of people attempting to enter the country.

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In the statement, Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, said, “after a thorough review, the prior administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) has endemic flaws, imposes unjustifiable human costs, and pulls resources and personnel away from other priority efforts to secure our border.”

As we close this edition, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) submitted its annual report to Congress, which provides recommendations for creating a more effective and efficient system. Highlights of the 2022 Annual Report include studies of USCIS’s affirmative asylum backlog— which now stands at over 430,000 cases—and recommendations for new operational approaches to improve the quality and efficiency of asylum adjudications.

FOR NOW, LET'S ALL WORK TO MAKE AMERICA A COUNTRY OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY. MAY AMERICA BE DEFINED AS A COUNTRY THAT OFFERS PEOPLE POSSIBILITIES. MAY THIS MONTH BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND THE LGBTQI+ COMMUNITY THAT THEY ARE LOVED AND CHERISHED AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THAT THEY DESERVE DIGNITY, RESPECT, AND SUPPORT.

Leonardo Freitas is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Hayman-Woodward; Mr. Leonardo Freitas explains recent immigration trends and why 2022 may be the year for qualified professionals to relocate to the United States.

Leonardo Freitas is our columnist on entrepreneurship, highskilled workforce, global mobility, and related immigration issues.

Leonardo Freitas

Note: The 2021 USCIS Statistical Annual Report has not been published. https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-and-studies/semi-monthly-credible-fear-and-reasonable-fear-receipts-and-decisions

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/2020-USCIS-Statistical-Annual-Report.pdf https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbtqi-refugee-convening/ https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Asylum-LGBT-Claims-Mar-2021.pdf https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/06/30/dhs-statement-supreme-court-decision-mpp https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/07/01/citizenship-and-immigration-services-ombudsman-submits-annual-report-congress

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