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Life Looks Easier for Gays in Latin America, Making it Harder for Gay Asylum Seekersby Kilian MelloyTuesday Aug 12, 2008 Whereas the anti-gay reputation for Latin American countries once was enough in and of itself to all but guarantee gay refugees asylum status in the U.S., legal and social changes that look promising but don’t always translate to true acceptance for gays now threaten to hinder asylum seekers looking to escape anti-gay prejudice and violence.
The Washington Post reported in an Aug. 12 article that although the efforts of GLBT equality advocates have led to some superficial changes--gay Pride parades, Mexico City’s civil unions law--the underlying culture of anti-gay violence and discrimination has been much slower to improve, leading to gays seeking relief from the dangers of living in Latin American countries being rejected by immigration officials who choose to see signs of progress as evidence that gays are now safe in their home countries.
The Washington Post story is a timely reminder, coinciding with last week’s 17th International AIDS Conference, which convened in Mexico City, with the head of Mexico’s HIV/AIDS prevention effort, Jorge Saavedra, in attendance, that the issue of GLBT equality, or even GLBT safety, is far from settled in nations with a tradition of anti-gay attitudes.
A story at EDGE last week covered Saavedra’s efforts, as the head of the Mexican HIV/AIDS group CENSIDA, to educate the public about social and health issues concerning gays, HIV, and AIDS, and to cut the ties between homophobia and the kind of secretive behavior that allows AIDS to flourish.
Saavedra, who is gay and HIV positive himself, reiterated that the legal situation in Mexico may have improved, but life for gays in a largely Catholic, traditional "macho" culture is still far from secure or easy.
Said Saavedra, "People think the homophobia is under control, which is not true."
Saavedra added, "Homophobia in Mexico is really high."
But Saavadra’s own efforts to educate Mexican policymakers and change the tenor of Mexican society may have contributed to the problem of immigration officials in the U.S. looking at what seems to be improved conditions for gays living in Mexico, among other Latin American nations, and deciding that asylum status for gays looking for refuge here is no longer warranted.
The Washington Post article quoted New York Law School professor Arthur Leonard, who said, "For a time, it seemed like it was a slam-dunk if you were gay, from Mexico, and filed for asylum in the United States."
Continued Leonard, "But there’s been a turning point. The gay rights movement has started to make progress in Mexico," with the result that gays coming from Mexico have a harder time making their cases to immigration officials who may see official changes in laws, but not understand that the rules on the ground have remained the same.
Those attitudes--which lead to anti-gay work policies, and even harassment from the police--can reinforce the very pattern of driving gays and other men who have sex with men into hiding, which is thought to drive up the HIV infection rate.
The Post cited two cases from the autumn of 2007 in which gay Mexicans lost their bids to remain in the U.S., and pointed out that gay would-be immigrants face not only immigration officials, but also scrutiny from Homeland Security.
The Post also cited unnamed Homeland Security officials as saying that their department has not revised its guidelines regarding gay foreign nationals, but Antonio Munoz, a San Diego immigration advocate, was quoted as saying that in 2007, "it really tightened up" when it came to gays seeking to immigrate from Latin American countries.
The Post related how Fernando Legy, a 26-year-old gay immigrant who grew up in the Mexico city of Mexicali, was raped as a younger man. He and his boyfriend found no protection from the police, who Legy claims arrested them and forced them to put on gay sex shows while in police custody.
Later, Legy had to submit to an HIV test at work; when he tested positive, Legy was fired.
Saavedra was quoted in the article as referencing just such employment practices. "[HIV positive workers] can be fired from their job," he said.
"It is not right, but we know it happens."
Such testing is not uncommon; the article said that in at least one hospital, patients and workers alike, including medical staff, are subjected to testing without their consent. HIV positive patients, said one hospital employee, Martin Martinez Sanchez, are not allowed into the hospital for care.
Medical staff may find they are not allowed to treat patients if they test positive, as in the case of Alejanro Torres, who was a resident for a year with the Navy in Mexico when he tested positive and immediately lost access to patients.
Said Torres, "They told me I had two options: fire me immediately, or finish the year but don’t touch another patient."
The Post cited Capt. Arturo Lopez as explaining that Navy rules for medical personnel do not allow anyone with a communicable disease to work with patients--even when the disease, like HIV, is not passed on through casual contact.
But being restricted to paperwork duty was not the end of it for Torres, who was subjected to attempts to convert him to heterosexuality by sending him on dates with nurses.
Nor was Torres allowed to offer any education or counseling about how to avoid contracting HIV.
As a private citizen, too, Torres found himself a target: police arrested him and his friends as they were leaving a gay bar, the Washington Post article reported.
Said Torres, "The doctors in Mexico don’t have training to deal with HIV patients."
The stress of his situation, and his trips to the U.S. for adequate medical care, proved overwhelming to Torres’ compromised immune system, leading his doctor to prescribe immigration to the U.S.
But none of that mattered to the immigration officer who denied Torres’ request to be allowed to reside legally in this country. The officer, reported the Washington Post, turned Torres away because Torres was not in imminent danger of being killed for his sexuality.
Said Torres, who continues to fight on appeal, "If you’re expecting me to wait until somebody kills me or the police beat me up, I’m not going to do that."
Discrimination cuts across the board; Legy said that among the men who raped him, two are involved in the trafficking of drugs. Said Legy, "I kind of hide here in the United States because the men who raped me have made threats."
Added Legy, "I’m afraid to go back."
Anti-gay violence remains a problem; the Post cited statistics provided by Letra S, a gay publication, showing estimating that in just over a decade, from 1995 to 2006, around 1,200 GLBT Mexicans were murdered because of their sexuality.
Letra S editor Alejandro Brito was quoted in the article saying that U.S. immigration officials thought Mexico City’s 2006 provision for civil unions meant things were now okay in the country for gays.
Not so, said Brito: "Instead, this has provoked aggressions by some in the society and especially some police."
Added Brito, "It would be a terrible shame to close this door to asylum."
Others in the health care field echo Saavedra’s warning in saying that HIV prevention is made much more difficult when gays and other men who have sex with men have to go on the down low.
Said Martinez, "They have sexual encounters in clandestine areas, and in parts of the city that are just horrible and dangerous."
Martinez continued, "Later they go home and have unprotected sex with their wives."
Added Martinez, "Many gays feel they have to have a wife for appearances."
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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