As the sun climbed across the sky, Representatives Mark Takano, Katie Porter, Sara Jacobs, Raul Ruiz, and Juan Vargas piled into a bus headed to Tijuana, Mexico.
But this was not your average road trip. In San Diego the night before, the Members of Congress met up with executives from several advocacy organizations and LGBTIQ refugee nonprofits, including ORAM, to discuss plans for their journey across the California-Mexico border.
Pictured above: members of Congress and LGBTIQ refugee nonprofit leaders gather at a shelter for LGBTIQ asylum seekers.
The representatives intended to develop a deeper understanding of some of the many challenges faced by queer asylum seekers in the Baja California region of Mexico and what they could do to help.
When the representatives and activists arrived in San Diego, their schedule – expertly assembled by the Council for Global Equality – allowed time for introductions and a security briefing during dinner.
Executive Directors of each of the nonprofits – Human Rights Watch, Comcavis Trans, Rainbow Railroad, Human Rights First, Council for Global Equality, and ORAM – spoke to the Members of Congress and their peers about the context for the next day’s meetings, including immigration policy in the U.S. and the challenges facing LGBTIQ asylum seekers in their countries of origin, particularly in the Northern Triangle.
Pictured above: ORAM Executive Director Steve Roth (left) and Representative Katie Porter (center) at the dinner in San Diego.
The next day, the group set out across the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry, which – despite being the fourth-busiest land border crossing in the world and a barrier for thousands of displaced individuals looking to escape violence and hardship – was no more than a short drive for this group.
Pictured above: traffic lanes at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry.
The representatives and nonprofit leaders visited Casa Arcoiris first, followed by El Jardín de las Mariposas, an LGBTIQ refugee shelter that ORAM partners with. At ‘El Jardín,’ the group toured the humble two-story building surrounded with rainbow banners and streamers. Then, El Jardín Founder Yolanda Rocha, along with her son Jaime, welcomed the group of Congresspeople and nonprofit leaders and introduced them to residents of the shelter, who performed a lively skit about the challenges facing LGBTIQ people around the world.
Pictured above: a resident of El Jardín de las Mariposas performs in a skit for visitors of the shelter.
ORAM Executive Director Steve Roth spoke in Spanish about the skills-building and economic empowerment programs that ORAM contributes to El Jardín with the goal of supporting queer refugees on their journeys. Ranging from courses in English and digital storytelling to yoga and ceramics, ORAM’s programs not only equip inhabitants of El Jardín with new toolsets to prepare them for the rest of their journeys, but also improve the residents’ mental health.
Pictured above: ORAM Executive Director Steve Roth speaks about ORAM’s work at El Jardín.
As Steve pointed out to the guests, many refugees live a life of waiting; waiting to relocate, waiting to become registered asylum seekers, waiting to rebuild their lives, and so on. ORAM’s livelihoods and skills-building programs, on the other hand, help displaced folks become more grounded in their temporary homes and keep them busy, which helps ease all the waiting just a little bit.
Steve also told the members of Congress and his colleagues about some of the other ways in which ORAM has helped El Jardín over the years, including “A Little Piece of Home,” a campaign led by ORAM’s parent organization, Alight; as well as ORAM’s provision of funding for food, rent, appliances, and sustainability; connections to other resources and funders; and technical advice regarding the shelter’s expansion.
Pictured above: a mural at El Jardín, part of the “A Little Piece of Home” project.
As the sun went down and the day’s conversations sunk into everyone’s minds, the activists were reminded of why they do their work, and the Congressmen and Congresswomen were compelled to consider what they could do to advance it.
Pictured above: El Jardín Assistant Director Jaime Marin leads Representative Ruiz, Jacobs, and Takano in a tour of the shelter.
Throughout the brief trip, the Council for Global Equality and their nonprofit partners urged Representatives Takano, Porter, Jacobs, Ruiz, and Vargas to advocate for the removal of Title 42, a Trump-era legal clause that has blocked migrants from entering the United States under covid-related public health pretenses - and they have done that.
Title 42 was slated to be struck down when the Biden administration announced their plan to end it on the first of April. Unfortunately, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked President Biden’s plan on May 20.
In the wake of this unfair ruling, residents of El Jardín and queer asylum seekers throughout Mexico are forced back into their life of waiting. We at ORAM will remain focused on our mission to empower our community, knowing that the longer we make them wait, the harder it will become for them to hold onto hope.
Together, we must give our LGBTIQ family a reason to hope. Together, we can.