OPINION: Protecting undocumented immigrants and Dreamers is a queer rights issue

 | 
09/22/2023

In 2012, an undocumented immigrant from Indonesia named Rio Djiwandana began his studies at Georgetown University. During his first semester, he enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Then President Barack Obama had just launched DACA, which temporarily prevented the deportation of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. These young people are also known as ‘Dreamers’. During his second semester, Djiwandana came out as gay. On the face of it, these two events in Djiwandana’s life may seem unrelated. But as an attorney who has spent almost all of my career representing LGBTQ+ immigrants, I know that the intersection of immigration status, sexual orientation, and gender identity matters a great deal.

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 10/03/2024
10/02/2024
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to sign into law a bill approved by parliament last month that rights groups and many opposition politicians …
Added on: 10/03/2024
10/02/2024
Kyrgyzstan’s government has proposed problematic amendments to the criminal code and other legislative acts that would restore criminal charges for the mere possession of …
Added on: 10/02/2024
10/02/2024
Cabrel Ngounou’s life in Cameroon quickly unraveled after neighbors caught the teenager with his boyfriend. A crowd surrounded his boyfriend’s house and beat him. …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Added on: 10/03/2024
Kyrgyzstan’s government has proposed problematic amendments to the criminal code and other legislative acts that would restore criminal charges for the mere possession of …
Added on: 10/02/2024
Cabrel Ngounou’s life in Cameroon quickly unraveled after neighbors caught the teenager with his boyfriend. A crowd surrounded his boyfriend’s house and beat him. …
Added on: 10/02/2024
Tokyo BTM is an increasingly popular channel that focuses on queer culture in Japan. Created by two expat, Andrew Pugsley, from Canada, and Meng …