The Biden administration will reportedly roll out new policies intended to ease the process of resettlement for LGBTQ+ Ukrainians seeking refuge in the United States.
As Russia lays siege to its European neighbours, the plan would “expedite” asylum claims from communities viewed as particularly vulnerable, as NBC News reports. Although specifics of the proposal have yet to be made public, prioritized groups include LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, journalists and activists.
U.S. officials are reportedly focused on providing both temporary relief and pathways to longer-term resettlement for LGBTQ+ Ukrainians. Possible outcomes include extending humanitarian parole, which lasts for up to one year, and broadening eligibility for Priority-2, a program previously designated for Afghan asylum seekers.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan signaled on March 22 that specifics of Biden’s plan would be forthcoming but did not lay out a timeline for its release. He said the U.S. president “will announce further American contributions to a coordinated humanitarian response to ease the suffering of the civilians inside Ukraine and to respond to the growing flow of refugees,” according to NBC News.
The pledge comes just days after members of Congress penned a letter to Biden urging his administration to take action to support marginalized groups severely threatened by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The six-page statement noted that members of the LGBTQ+ community “widely face discrimination and persecution in Russia.”
“In Chechnya, reports have documented what has been described as a large-scale ‘anti-gay purge’ by Russian security forces,” it read. “When the killings of gay men began in Chechnya in 2017, the Trump administration was slow to respond and failed to work with organizations that resettle LGBTQI+ people who faced danger. We cannot repeat the previous administration’s mistakes.”
More than 70 U.S. House of Representatives signed onto the letter, including several openly LGBTQ+ lawmakers: David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).
Signatories urged Biden to “ensure close and continued dialogue with organizations that serve Ukrainian members of marginalized groups” and “fund and support shelters to serve vulnerable populations that face particular risk at the hands of Russian forces.” They also called on U.S. leaders to pay particular attention to the plight of trans people attempting to flee Ukraine, many of whom may be stopped at the border for having documents that do not match their gender presentation.
Reports indicate that LGBTQ+ people unable to leave Ukraine are also struggling to have their basic needs met. Trans Ukrainians have largely been unable to access their regular prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy (HRT), while many people living with HIV are currently not able to refill medications that help them manage and suppress the virus, per the New York Times.
The Biden administration has previously signaled that it is attuned to the particular concerns of LGBTQ+ Ukrainians attempting to survive the conflict, which has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 900 civilians. Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights abroad, told the queer newspaper Washington Blade last week that her office has been regularly meeting with Ukranian LGBTQ+ activists and “trying to find ways to support them.”
“One of the things we’ve been focused on has been ensuring that LGBTQI Ukrainian organizations and LGBTQI organizations in the surrounding countries have the financial resources to provide emergency support to this population that finds itself facing double and triple discrimination,” she said.
Although LGBTQ+ Ukrainians are likely to face severe persecution if Putin’s attempted takeover is successful, they also could be subjected to potential harm while taking shelter in neighbouring countries. An estimated 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland, where more than 100 cities and other municipalities have passed local ordinances declaring themselves “LGBT-free” since 2019. (These ordinances are symbolic and generally non-binding.)
As the U.S. weighs greater support to marginalized Ukrainians, many LGBTQ+ groups are already stepping up to help, including non-profits like the Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad. In Ukraine, Kyiv Pride and Gay Alliance Ukraine recently opened a shelter to house LGBTQ+ refugees as they prepare to flee. The advocacy group Insight is also operating two shelters near the borders to Romania and Poland.
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