NYC24: Gay immigrants find safe space in New York
NYC24.com: Gay Immigrants Find Safe Space in New York March 2008, multimedia story
After 9/11, U.S. priorities shifted from providing a safe space for others to protecting its own citizens. Today, immigrants fleeing persecution are applying for asylum in fewer numbers as deportation rates are increasing.
Dane Solomon is No Longer Afraid
By Lisa Biagiotti & Channtal Fleischfresser
In 1997, Dane Solomon went to the movies alone in Georgetown, Guyana, as he always did. At 11 p.m., he crossed the street to catch a bus home when two men asked him to spare some change. When Solomon declined, they punched him in the stomach.
“This faggot came onto us,” the men told arriving policemen, Solomon remembers. In Guyana, only four types of people walk alone at night: policemen, thieves, prostitutes and “anti-men” (homosexuals). Solomon spent a sleepless night in the corner of a crowded jail cell.
Seven years ago, he fled this life, leaving his native country and family, never to return. In the years since, he suffered a stroke, beat brain cancer, and coped with HIV, poverty and the uncertainty of being undocumented in New York.
On Feb. 20, 2008, Solomon, 36, walked out of the immigration office in Lyndhurst, N.J., completing a one-year asylum application process. Weeping, he flipped open his white cell phone and called his mother, Claudette, in Guyana.
“I feel liberated,” Solomon said. “The day in which I received asylum, I called up friends of mine and said, ‘I’m as legal as Barack Obama.’”
But Solomon is not typical of those seeking asylum.
After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, United States priorities shifted from providing a safe space for others to protecting its own citizens. Today, immigrants fleeing persecution are applying for asylum in fewer numbers as deportation rates are increasing. Heightened immigration controls have made it harder for immigrants to obtain visas, and many who are eligible do not apply for asylum because they fear being deported if their application is rejected.
The number of people who voluntarily applied for asylum decreased by 48 percent between 2001 and 2007. During the same period, the number of people deported increased by two and a half times. [Chart]
“In many cases, immigrants won’t apply affirmatively because they don’t want to be placed on immigration’s radar,” said Jonathan Eoloff, an attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center, an organization focusing on gay asylum in Chicago, Ill.
The drop in asylum applications does not necessarily correlate to rising deportation numbers, but it underscores the apprehension among immigrants to voluntarily present themselves to immigration authorities. An unintended consequence of expanded homeland security measures is that many in need of asylum have been discouraged from applying.
Despite the risk of deportation, Solomon felt he could not return to his native Guyana for fear of further persecution. Unlike many immigrants who find refuge in the safe haven the U.S. provides—albeit illegally—Solomon decided to file a petition for asylum to obtain legal residency.
“I lived in constant fear that I would not be able to put up this facade,” Solomon said. “Knowing who you are inside and pretending to be somebody else takes everything from you.”
At age 16, Solomon left his home in rural Linden, Guyana after years of emotional and physical abuse. He worked his way through the University of Guyana and served in Georgetown’s city police force.
Pressured to prove his masculinity to fellow police officers, Solomon had a one-night stand with a woman. His son, Dane, Jr., is now 14-years-old and lives with Solomon’s mother. Solomon left the force after two years, joining the Red Cross and then the United Nations as a health educator in Guyana. On a U.N. visit to the U.S. in 2001 he participated in his first Gay Pride Parade.
“I saw the freedom of people to express themselves for who they are,” Solomon said. “All I wanted to do was love somebody freely and be loved.” Solomon decided to overstay his visa in the U.S.
In 1994 former Attorney General Janet Reno expanded asylum law to include immigrants who could prove government persecution based on sexual preference. Asylum applications must be filed within one year of entry into the U.S. Immigrants must prove persecution in their home country on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group—gay asylum cases fall under this category, according to Victoria Neilson, the legal director of Immigration Equality, a national organization that works to end immigration discrimination.
“People don’t know it’s an option. It’s very hard for people to learn about it, and learn about it in time,” said Rachel Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, which screens selectively and accepts only one in seven prospective asylum petitioners. “The number one reason we turn away cases is because they’re beyond the one-year filing deadline.”
A year after arriving in the U.S., Solomon suffered a stroke, which left him paralyzed, unable to speak and walk for seven months. But Solomon chose to apply despite missing the filing deadline. According to Immigration Equality, Solomon’s circumstances were exceptional and he received a waiver for the application deadline.
“I did not have an identity for years,” said Solomon. “My entire life was a lie.” Now, he can run out of his apartment and kiss his boyfriend on the street. As he searches for a job, he can confidently negotiate his salary. And he looks forward to bringing Dane, Jr. to the U.S. after seven years apart.
“This is the start of my American Dream,” Solomon said. “I can make a better life, not just for myself, but for my son.”
Theme design by Borja Fernandez.