Gay and Lesbian Asylum-Seekers Scrutinized by Immigration Officers

Gay and lesbian immigrants seeking asylum in the United States are facing new obstacles in the legal process. According to Lori Adams, a lawyer at Human Rights First, ?Judges and immigration officials are adding a new hurdle in gay asylum cases that an applicant?s homosexuality must be socially visible.? Asylum seekers and rights groups have expressed discontent over the possibility of gay and lesbian immigrants having to prove they are ?gay enough? to avoid deportation. As of 1994, the law outlining acceptable criteria for granting asylum was expanded to include gay men and lesbians. Gay and lesbian applicants must provide proof of their sexual orientation and risk of persecution, either through affidavits from sexual partners or through police and medical records of abuse. Such proof can be difficult to come by, however, given the illegality and extreme punishments for being openly gay in many countries that prevent victims of anti-gay harassment from reporting specific incidents. Chris Rhatigan, a spokesperson for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, claims that such behavior by immigration officers and judges would not be tolerated, saying, ?We don?t say that someone is insufficiently gay or homosexual, whatever that would mean, or that he or she could be saved by hiding his or her homosexuality.? Related Media Coverage:The New York Times - January 28, 2011"Gays Seeking Asylum in U.S. Encounter a New Hurdle"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/nyregion/29asylum.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

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