The situation of LGBT+ migrants in the new Trump era
The anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ measures announced by Donald Trump have already begun to be implemented. We spoke with LGBTI migrant activists to learn about their situation and what lies ahead.
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On January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Since his election, he has announced the effects of his immigration policy: “carrying out the largest deportation in history.” He stated that he would block measures to restrict asylum applications, such as the CPB-one program, and would deploy more troops to the border with Mexico.
Trump assumed the presidency with a Republican majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate enjoyed a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. He is the first president in U.S. history convicted of at least 34 felony bribery charges, though he received no prison sentence or fine.
Throughout the campaign and at yesterday's event, Trump maintained a racist, xenophobic, anti-LGBTI+, anti-immigrant, and militaristic narrative.
We spoke with Raúl Caporal, director of Casa Frida , a shelter for people in human mobility based in Tapachula, Monterrey and Mexico City; and with Blanca Castro, a human rights defender from Honduras.
11.2 million people at risk
Minutes into his presidency, journalists and media outlets reported that the CPB-One app stopped working and asylum appointments for migrants were canceled. In addition, Trump signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency at the border with Mexico.
In an interview with Carmen Aristegui , Juanita Goebertus, director of Human Rights Watch in the Americas, stated that Trump's measures on immigration issues put 11.2 million undocumented migrants at risk, 66% of whom are from Mexico and Central America.
At Presentes we contacted transgender migrant women in New York and Los Angeles.
“We’re terrified. We see immigration vans in the streets, and we’re all scared. I’ve already been discriminated against, and now with what Trump is saying about there only being two genders, I’m afraid people will feel more confident saying things to my face because I’m trans, a sex worker, and a migrant,” says a Salvadoran trans woman who transitioned along the migration route. She was denied asylum in Mexico and arrived in New York two years ago. Given the current situation, she is now considering whether or not to migrate to Spain. For her safety, she requested anonymity.
Raúl Caporal of Casa Frida and Blanca Castro of Honduras agree that in recent weeks, LGBT+ migrants and refugees have seen their dreams dashed. This has led many of them to take irregular migration routes where they face risks and human rights violations. They are at risk of trafficking, physical and sexual violence at the hands of organized crime groups, security forces, and immigration authorities .
“What we’ve seen in recent weeks, as Trump’s inauguration approaches, is an acceleration in the timing of migration, leading to more irregular routes that carry greater dangers and human rights violations. These routes are closely linked to organized crime groups, and today this is one of the biggest problems due to the risks involved. It’s a landscape of great despair and anxiety about reaching the United States,” Caporal explains.
“In Honduras we have a time bomb.”
In Honduras, the LGBT+ population is left without protection of their human rights. Since the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued its ruling in the case of " Vicky Hernández et al. v. Honduras ," the Honduran state has been obligated to guarantee recognition of gender identity and other protective measures for LGBT+ populations; however, these measures have not been implemented.
Blanca Castro, a human rights defender, recounts that “the LGBT population was mentioned in an inaugural address (by the current president, Xiomara Castro) . But since then, there have been no policies, no rights, and the recommendations from the Vicky Hernández ruling have been handled arbitrarily. There has been no real, tangible, or visible benefit for the population, so we are practically left dependent on international aid.”
US international aid under the Trump administration could also be compromised. Under Project 2025 , a far-right government plan adopted by Trump , there are plans to limit international support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implement other measures that directly impact human rights and the protection of vulnerable populations.
One of these protection measures for migrants was suspended last week for Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal, and Sudan. This is Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program the U.S. government provides to people of certain nationalities who, due to various emergency circumstances, cannot return to their country. TPS offers them temporary residency and work permits, as well as protection from deportation. Project 2025 calls for the elimination of TPS and any other form of protection for the migrant population .
“The TPS decision came as a complete shock because many people, both from the LGBT community and those who are not, depend on this status. If you add to that the country's internal issues of high levels of discrimination and violence against vulnerable and protected groups, and the lack of action from the justice system, with no access to labor rights, then we are sitting on a time bomb that puts our LGBT migrant and non-migrant populations in a completely vulnerable and defenseless situation,” explains Blanca Castro.
On his first day as president, Trump signed an executive order temporarily suspending all U.S. programs for foreign assistance for 90 days, and they will be reviewed to determine if they align with his political vision.
“Faced with this situation, what I believe will strengthen us is resilience, cooperation between groups, and the networks we have built. LGBT+ people have had an impressive shield of resilience; no matter the situation or adversity, we create opportunities, and this time will be no different. We have always done so. There are allies and stories from which we can learn,” Blanca adds.
“Strengthening years of work and improving partnerships”
Casa Frida began working as a shelter for LGBT+ migrants in 2020 and today has two more locations in Monterrey (in northern Mexico) and in the country's capital.
Casa Frida is the only Mexican organization that works with a local integration perspective for LGBT migrants seeking refuge for humanitarian reasons and displaced migrants seeking asylum in the United States. They also support Mexican LGBTI+ people in situations of forced internal displacement.
Its director, Raúl Caporal, says in an interview that rather than preparing for a new Trump administration, his vision is "to strengthen what we already know how to do."
“In the current context, there are many concerns, but what remains for us is to strengthen our work and improve alliances with other spaces and shelters, both for LGBTI people and for the general population, both in Mexico and Central America. We need to work in coordination on new strategies to strengthen local integration and international protection mechanisms with the only authority empowered in Mexico, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance ( COMAR ), but the truth is that today there is no director, and over time there has been a weakening in the face of US immigration policy,” Caporal explains.
Mexico's role
The challenges that Raúl observes for LGBT+ migrant populations are mainly in how to "guide, integrate and protect" people who are going to be deported and who at the same time cannot return to their countries of origin because their integrity is in danger due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and contexts of violence and lack of employment.
In that sense, Raúl believes that Mexico “could become that safe country with options for the LGBT+ migrant and refugee population. At least in Mexico City, thanks to its legislative advances and public policy, migrants could have an alternative.”
“In fact, this is the wish of those of us who assist them; 70% of our asylum seekers begin their process in Mexico with the intention of staying. With the border closures, we will have to prepare to receive the remaining 30% who continue their journey to the United States or who may be deported, using our existing capacity. But it's not something new; we're not going to start from scratch.”
In December, Mexican federal authorities announced the opening of 25 more shelters at border crossings with the United States. According to an article by journalist Almudena Barragán in El País, a week after Trump's inauguration, state and municipal governments in northern Mexico “have been working at full speed for weeks (…) and are warning of the economic and infrastructure obstacles they face, and have called on the government of Claudia Sheinbaum to work together.”
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