LGBTQ refugee group says number of requests for help has spiked since 2020
An organization that helps LGBTQ+ people file refugee claims says it has seen a spike in pleas for assistance from around the world since 2020.
Devon Matthews, program head with Rainbow Railroad, said the explosion in the number of requests for help reflects a trend of countries backsliding on LGBTQ rights – or even embracing a policy of persecution.
'This isn't just the United States that we're seeing this in,' she said. 'More broadly worldwide, we are seeing some particularly terrifying xenophobia, anti-refugee sentiment and queer phobia in many countries around the world, including in Europe and across different regions in which we work on the ground.'
Republican state and federal officials in the U.S. have been working for years to limit the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans and have imposed rules on which sports transgender students can play and which bathrooms they can use, among other policies.
LGBTQ Ugandans, forced to hide in shelters, fear their relative safety is only temporary
The Rainbow Railroad says it's now working with Ottawa to divert from the U.S. to Canada a handful of refugee claims filed by LGBTQ+ claimants.
Matthews said her organization was fielding 27 applications representing 36 people who were bound for the U.S. at the start of the year. Some of the applicants filed as couples.
She said 28 of those applicants changed their minds about moving to the United States after President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
'So we've had to pivot our plans for those 28 individuals to come to Canada to the best of our abilities,' she said.
'Obviously, it's a very complex process to switch all of the different logistics and paperwork, and people are in extremely dire situations, but we've been doing what we can.'
Matthews said that this kind of switch isn't allowed normally but Ottawa is making an exception.
Matthews said these refugee claimants would not be covered by the Safe Third Country Agreement – which says an asylum seeker must stay in the first safe country they reach – because they have not entered the U.S. The claimants are currently living in Brazil, Columbia, Uganda and nine other African countries.
A spokeswoman from Immigration Minister Lena Diab's office said in an e-mailed reply that the office can't comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.
She added that Canada has a 'proud history' of resettling vulnerable people, including LGBTQ+ refugees, and the government works with groups like Rainbow Railroad to identify LGBTQ+ refugees and their families for resettlement.
Rahma Esslouani made it to Canada with Rainbow Railroad's help. Esslouani is originally from Morocco, where same-sex relationships are illegal.
'I faced violence, physically and psychologically, from my family, from society, discrimination, persecution. So I don't have rights to wear what I'm going to wear. I don't have rights to be myself, to be who I am. I have to follow the culture,' Esslouani said.
'My family wanted to force me to get married, so this makes me feel like I can't accept a marriage to a man. So that is the main and biggest reason to escape through Turkey.'
Why I'm crossing the border to attend World Pride in Washington this year
Esslouani said they faced continued persecution in Turkey, where non-binary status is not recognized under the law. While it's not illegal to be in a same-sex relationship or to be gender non-conforming in Turkey, so-called 'offences against public morals' have been used to target LGBTQ+ people.
Esslouani said they were arrested in Turkey.
'I realized that it is dangerous to exist and to be myself as queer, non-binary person,' they said.
After that arrest, Esslouani contacted Rainbow Railroad.
'I remember the first the email that I received said, 'We are with you. You are not alone,'' Esslouani said.
'I read it again and again and again because of like, happiness with this world that finally someone heard my story and gives me hope, that I have to resist and not give up.'
Esslouani finally came to Canada in July, 2024, just missing Pride Month in Toronto. They said it's 'a dream come true' to live here after a lifetime of hiding.
'So finally, I'm going to be myself. I'm going to be out in public and can be myself and introduce my sexuality in public, and live, walk and talk freely and not be scared of the police or that people will judge me or to feel shame or afraid,' Esslouani said.
'There is love between people here. Everyone supports each other. There is no judgment, no fear. So I feel that I am no longer just surviving, but I am alive.'
Rainbow Railroad receives a yearly allotment of 250 spots in Government Assisted Refugee program to help people like Esslouani come to Canada.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
Liberals, Conservatives pass major projects legislation in House of Commons
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle Conservative members of Parliament voted with the minority Liberal government to pass its marquee major projects legislation Friday evening, setting it up to become law before Canada Day. The legislation, also known as the one Canadian economy act, would allow the government to green-light a list of projects that have been deemed to be in the national interest, fast-tracking their approvals. The Liberals have called it the core of the government's domestic economic response to U.S. tariffs. 'This is what makes us different from the United States, this is what makes us more independent from the United States, this is what's going to move us forward,' Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a press conference after the vote, adding the legislation needed to pass quickly 'because we are in a crisis.' 'And if you don't think we're in a crisis, go to Sault Ste. Marie, go to Hamilton, go to Windsor.' After the second of two votes in the House of Commons on Friday, Carney crossed the floor to shake hands with Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman. Two votes were held instead of one after the House Speaker ruled that the legislation had two distinct parts without a clear common element. That allowed the Bloc Quebecois and NDP members to vote in favour of the first part of the bill -- which looks to tackle internal trade barriers -- and against the more controversial second part dealing with major projects. The major projects bill grants the government sweeping powers to quickly approve projects that are deemed to be in the national interest. Provincial and territorial premiers have given Carney lists of projects they want to see approved, but no national list of projects has been made public so far. 'We all agree that more fulsome conversations are needed to select the nation-building projects and to determine the conditions that they must fulfil. In other words, the real work begins now,' Carney said. The legislation has drawn criticism from Indigenous leaders and environmental groups who say it gives too much power to the federal cabinet to bypass existing laws. The legislation was introduced on June 6 and was pushed through the House after about eight hours of committee study on Tuesday and Wednesday. The House transport committee did amend the bill to, among other things, remove the Indian Act from a list of laws the government can sidestep when determining whether a project should move forward. First Nations leaders have warned the bill could violate their constitutionally protected rights and may lead to legal challenges. Carney emphasized the need to respect the constitutional rights of Indigenous Peoples in his press conference on Friday. 'The major projects office will have an Indigenous advisory council whose core function will be to honour Section 35 rights in the implementation of this bill,' he said. He promised to hold full-day summits with First Nations, Inuit and Metis rights-holders and leaders in the coming weeks, alongside Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty. 'Consultation, co-operation, engagement and participation are at the heart of this bill,' he said. The bill is now headed to the Senate, which is scheduled to sit until June 27. By Sarah Ritchie. With files from Kyle Duggan and Alessia Passafiume.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
House of Commons passes Liberals' major projects bill
Liberal and Conservative members of Parliament voted to pass the government's major projects legislation this evening. After the second of two votes, Prime Minister Mark Carney crossed the floor to shake hands with Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman. Two votes were held instead of one after the House Speaker ruled that the legislation had two distinct parts without a clear common element. That allowed the Bloc Québécois and NDP members to vote in favour of the first part of the bill — which looks to tackle internal trade barriers — and against the more controversial second part dealing with major projects. The major projects bill grants the government sweeping powers to quickly approve projects that are deemed to be in the national interest. The bill is now headed to the Senate, which is scheduled to sit until June 27.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Judge halts Trump's attempt to keep international students from Harvard
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students, delivering the Ivy League school another victory as it challenges multiple government sanctions amid a battle with the White House. The order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston preserves the ability of Harvard to host foreign students while the case is decided. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security in May after the agency withdrew the school's certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas. The action would have forced Harvard's roughly 7,000 foreign students — about a quarter of its total enrolment — to transfer or risk being in the U.S. illegally. New foreign students would have been barred from coming to Harvard. The university called it illegal retaliation for rejecting the White House's demands to overhaul Harvard policies around campus protests, admissions, hiring and other issues. Burroughs temporarily halted the action hours after Harvard sued. Less than two weeks later, in early June, Trump moved to block foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard, citing a different legal justification. Harvard challenged the move, and Burroughs temporarily blocked that effort as well. The stops and starts of the legal battle have unsettled current students and left others around the world waiting to find out whether they will be able to attend America's oldest and wealthiest university. The Trump administration's efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling international students have created an environment of "profound fear, concern and confusion," the university said in a court filing. Many international students have asked about transferring from the university, Harvard immigration services director Maureen Martin said. Trump has been warring with Harvard for months after it rejected a series of government demands meant to address conservative complaints that the school has become too liberal and has tolerated anti-Jewish harassment. Trump officials have cut more than $2.6 billion US in research grants, ended federal contracts and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status. In April, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of records related to any dangerous or illegal activity by foreign students. Harvard says it complied, but Noem said the response fell short and on May 22, she revoked Harvard's certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The sanction immediately put Harvard at a disadvantage as it competed for the world's top students, the school said in its lawsuit, and it harmed Harvard's reputation as a global research hub. "Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard," the suit said. The action would have upended some graduate schools that recruit heavily from abroad. Some schools overseas quickly offered invitations to Harvard's students, including two universities in Hong Kong. Harvard President Alan Garber previously said the university has made changes to combat antisemitism. But Harvard, he said, will not stray from its "core, legally protected principles," even after receiving federal ultimatums.
