ADVOCATES RESOURCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE INTERSECTIONS OF IMMIGRATION AND TRANSGENDER and TWO-SPIRIT (LGBTQ+) RIGHTS
Written by D.Fox at Fox Den Consulting
Having a safe place and community to call home free from interpersonal, familial, community and state violence is a basic human right and necessity. Many transgender and LGBTQ+ immigrants have fled harm related to sexual orientation and gender identity from punitive governments to seek safety in the United States. With recent federal Executive Orders, state laws removing basic rights and health care from LGBTQ+ communities, and immigrant enforcement surges in targeted cities and states across the country, we have seen the harms impacting Two-Spirit, transgender survivors, victim service providers, and our communities in general.
What are the impacts on transgender survivors and their families during Immigration Enforcement surges?
Enforcement practices create a climate of fear for survivors and their children. Survivors are less likely to engage in help seeking behaviors like seeking shelter, pursuing legal remedies like going to court, and accessing basic safety net services. There is a fear of harm from agents, possible detention and deportation, family separation, and economic/job losses. For Two-Spirit, transgender, immigrant and LGBTQ+ survivors who have fled dangerous or unsafe situations, states or countries, there are additional fears of being sent back to places where they could be harmed or killed by their harm-doers, family members, and the state. If a transgender survivor is forcefully deported to their state, country of origin or family of origin there can be real risk of harm and death and possible suicidality.
Survivors are afraid to reach out to local law enforcement when harm doers weaponize the current climate and make threats to call the police or immigration enforcement to have their partner detained or deported. The Alliance for Immigrant Survivors recently released a report, Fear and Silence: 2025 Insights from Advocates for Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Human Trafficking. The report reveals the very real fears facing immigrant survivors. Many families feel very unsafe due to public kidnappings at schools and murders and harm by ice. As a result, families are reporting they are unable to participate in public life. In the Twin Cities, children have been kidnapped and taken to detention, making it unsafe for children to attend school in person.
For LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people in detention centers, the sexual abuse within those facilities are ever present. LGBTQ+ immigrants and legal observers are targeted in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations. When incarcerated in detention centers, LGBTQ+ people experience high rates of sexual assault and violence. In the report, No Human Being Should be Here (2024), the majority of survey participants reported threats of assault, verbal abuse, and hate related speech including homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, and racist in nature. Half of the participants interviewed were punished with solitary confinement, and reported being outed (HIV status, confidential medical information, sexual orientation, and gender identity) without prior consent. Private for-profit detention centers with little to no oversight or ability to seek counsel are unsafe, and dangerous for LGBTQ+ survivors. The detention facilities are not in compliance with international law and deny LGBTQ+ people their basic human and constitutional rights. Immigrants and asylum seekers are worthy of dignity and respect and should not be detained by ICE or CBP.
In communities heavily targeted by immigration enforcement, networks of volunteers are now buying and delivering food and supplies to families who are not able to leave home for fear of ICE detention or deportation. Families have gone into hiding, individuals have disappeared, and some have attempted to flee the country. In a state like Minnesota, many LGBTQ+ families, like the Good family, moved to Minnesota for the protections offered. Minnesota is a Trans Refuge state, offering specific transgender protections such as a right to gender affirming care and statewide human rights protections. Since the 1970s Minnesota has also been very welcoming to immigrant and refugee populations. The highest percentage of resettled refugees in the country is in Minnesota along with the highest percent of out transgender adults. The diversity and sanctuary city policies are one of the main reasons the federal government has targeted Minneapolis and that it has voted blue in all presidential elections since the 1970s.
Why are LGBTQ+ communities being targeted during Immigration Enforcement raids?
It has been reported by legal observers that CPB and ICE agents have used transphobic, homophobic, and misogynist hate and derogatory speech when interacting with neighbors in the community. Being visibly transgender and queer, and especially a visibly LGBTQ+ person of color, makes legal observers targets for illegal arrest and detainment. Black and Brown people are experiencing the majority of harm and are most vulnerable to kidnapping, regardless of citizenship status, gender, or sexual identity. As transgender Minnesota state legislator Leigh Finke remarked in the LGBTQ Nation magazine “queer folks….have become collateral damage in a system that empowers white supremacy. One of the things that sort of underlies the people who are enforcing this is that they are adherents of a certain kind of structure of power which puts targets on women and queer people, and you saw that with the murder of Renee Good”.
In culturally and racially diverse, and queer communities, the presence of large-scale over-enforcement operations in residential neighborhoods creates conditions that increase fear, trauma, and in turn a rapid response mobilization to engage in bystander intervention violence prevention. Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ relatives have led efforts to train and become legal observers to protect our immigrant neighbors.
How can domestic and sexual violence organization advocates support Two-Spirit and transgender survivors during this time?
The destabilizing impacts of large-scale occupations are far reaching and create lasting generational and widespread trauma, and compounded trauma for those who have previously fled war-torn countries. Some of the key impacts for survivors and the communities are economic disruptions with small and immigrant/refugee businesses closing to keep them and their staff safer; families going into hiding to keep from being separated and forcing survivors into the shadows and less likely to seek safety at victim service provider agencies.
The Minnesota statewide anti-violence coalitions named the disinvestments that could actually address public safety in our community by investing in domestic and sexual violence programs.
We will not stay silent while…policymakers nationwide scapegoat Latine and Somali Minnesotans under the guise of “ending fraud and violent crime” while stripping massive amounts of money from domestic and violence services; cutting permanent housing funding; and waging campaigns of discrimination and erasure against 2SLGBTQIA+ Americans.
Tangible ways to support survivors to consider are:
- Pivoting program services from site-based services to mobile advocacy and outreach. During an occupation survivors are afraid to leave their homes and to seek services. Modify services to safely deliver much needed services remotely.
- Safety planning as much as needed. During a militarized occupation, leaving the house at any time is a risk.
- Support survivors in crafting legal custody plans for children if detained or deported.
- Get creative with flexible funding and mutual aid to meet the unique needs survivors face. If survivors are unable to work, come up with a plan to get bills and rent paid.
- Provide real time crisis counseling, support groups, and engagement.
- Connect survivors who are interested in community involvement by becoming legal observers, volunteers, and watchers.
- Connect survivors with community members or staff members who can assist with getting their children to day care/school and back safely without fearing being picked up by CBP or ICE during transport.
- Create safety plans with advocates. Advocates may be at increased risk of arrest if they are working to support immigrant survivors, accompanying children, or in other ways encountering ICE. Consider budgeting for a bail fund for staff, engaging with legal support or other measures to support staff and volunteers.
- Advocates are often survivors and belong to many communities directly impacted by ICE enforcement. Support staff in accessing much needed emotional and financial resources. Offer them flexibility without fear of job loss and lack of income.
- Connect with immigration and transgender rights lawyers and organizations, state legislators, members of Congress to mobilize immediately if a survivor and their children are separated or detained. Having a lawyer and political pull can prevent or return a survivor from being flown to an out of state detention center and possibly prevent deportation.
- Get to know your neighbors and break down the isolation, fear, and disconnectedness that interpersonal and state violence feeds off of. In communities that have activated and practiced bystander intervention in real time, they have been effective in supporting their neighbors and mitigating further harm by ICE and CPB. In Minnesota, they described this value as neighborism, taking care of one another and your neighbors as a way to prevent violence in our communities.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Immigration Protections for Immigrant Survivors
VAWA is still federal law and that has not changed. Survivors can still access U Visas. VAWA provides a pathway for lawful immigration status for victims of domestic violence. The U Visa allows a survivor to self-petition for a visa and remain in the U.S. for up to four years, with eligibility to apply for a green card after three years. It protects survivors from the threat of deportation and provides eligibility to work in the U.S. It is not an easy process in the current climate as filing requires the survivor to report the violence they experienced to work with law enforcement. The process and timeline are uncertain and varies. The survivor, especially transgender and LGBTQ+ survivors, will likely need to work with an immigration lawyer with VAWA expertise in applying for a U Visa.
What to do if ICE comes to your program?
Domestic violence programs and shelters and other spaces such as schools, medical facilities such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, and places of worship were once-protected spaces from immigration enforcement. We are now seeing CBP and ICE targeting daycare centers, schools, and kidnapping and arresting students and staff and tear-gassing and shooting rubber bullets on school grounds, creating immense fear in communities about the violence directed towards children, parents and educators.
If ICE arrives at your organization, here’s how you can prepare and respond.
- Clearly mark public and non-public spaces. ICE cannot enter private spaces without a judicial warrant or subpoena. Victim service providers can post signage stating that no one, including ICE or CPB, can enter the property, without a judicial warrant.
- Ensure that staff, clients, volunteers, and community members know their rights when engaging with ICE. Printable Know Your Rights cards are available from many organizations, and are typically translated into many languages. Some examples include the National Immigration Law Center and United We Dream.
- Ensure that staff and leadership of your organization are informed of nonprofits’ rights and responsibilities if ICE arrives.
- Understand what to do before, during, and after a potential ICE raid, and discuss these plans with your staff, organization, and volunteers.
Nonprofit-specific guidance from the Minnesota Council of NonProfits (MCN)
- Nonprofits should develop good policies that protect clients: A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace – NILC.
- Webinar recording: What nonprofits should know about immigration site visits (MCN).
- Training slides: Civil Rights Laws and Nonprofit Missions (MCN & MCF Partner event).
- Nonprofit leaders: address the current climate with your staff. It’s important to recognize that your team members, and especially Black and Brown, immigrant/refugee and 2SLGBTQ+ staff, are most likely not working at full capacity right now, and that they may be fearing for their safety or the safety of loved ones. There are regular interruptions, distractions, and safety planning required as staff navigate moving through the world in an unpredictable and unsafe environment.
- MCN has resources to navigate uncertainty and focus on key levers of organizational stability: strong internal controls; sustainable revenue mix; strategic HR; ethical leadership.
- The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) are working on collecting data and testimony and are leading lawsuits on behalf of nonprofits. Currently, there is ongoing concern that organizations providing on-the-ground support and involved in ICE protests could be labeled as “domestic terrorists.” If you are able:
- Please take this short confidential survey to better equip NCN to protect our sector.
- If you have received any subpoenas or direct communications from federal law enforcement (Homeland Security) or from Congress, please contact NCN’s Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Campaigns Sarah Saadian at ssaadian@councilofnonprofits.org or 202-834-5178.
- Data security practices to protect your people and data: The safety and privacy of the people the nonprofit serves, and its staff, board, and volunteers must be a priority. Review your data security practices and avoid collecting and storing sensitive information unless necessary (NTEN).
- Legal nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy: 501(c)3 nonprofits are legally allowed to participate in advocacy but must remain nonpartisan. Legal, nonpartisan activities include issue advocacy, speaking up about the issues central to your mission. Just ensure your messaging is about the issue, not the people running on it. Stay policy-focused, avoid partisan buzzwords, and don’t imply who voters should vote for in an upcoming election. When nonprofit staff are participating in partisan activities, they need to take PTO and should consult with their employee handbook on organizational policies (Alliance for Justice).
What can agencies do if ICE requests staff or survivor information?
In Minnesota there has been documented targeting and retaliation of local businesses, including a small family-owned LGBTQ+ inclusive toy store being audited by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and a larger health care provider. With a large number of agents in some communities, immigration lawyers are seeing audit cases triple that are indiscriminate and retaliatory in nature.
If ICE or DHS specifically requests employment documentation or survivor information, follow these steps to protect employees’ rights and survivor confidentiality:
- Place signs on the business informing the rights of the business.
- Notify leadership and reach out to a lawyer immediately for guidance and before taking action.
- Document interaction with ICE. If the agents cooperate, take down their name and badge numbers, reason for their search, and any warrant or subpoena details. If appropriate, and if interactions are tense, consider videotaping interactions to document in real time.
- Do real time role playing and training of staff and residents. Interacting with a masked, unidentified man with guns and weapons can be very triggering and unsettling for survivors of interpersonal violence. Training staff on how to remain calm, de-escalate, and interact with agents can be skill building and a form of safety planning. As a reminder, it is never an employee or survivor’s fault if an agent becomes agitated and utilizes violence when interacting with them.
- It is illegal to retaliate, discipline, or fire employees or exit survivors from services for asserting their constitutional rights.
What are Other Ways to Support Immigrant, LGBTQ+, and other Impacted Communities
While the murder of Renee Good is deeply connected to our work and critical for us to name, it is important for the gender based violence movement and the 2SLGBTQ+ movement to address this loss and violence and stand with our immigrant communities. This is not the first murder or life lost from the attacks from ICE, and as Renee Good’s wife, Becca Good reminded us in a recent statement, “Renee was not the first person killed, and she was not the last. You know my wife’s name, and you know Alex’s (Pretti) name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don’t know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don’t look like mine. They are neighbors, friends, coworkers, classmates. And we must also know their names. Because this shouldn’t happen to anyone.”
What are some best practices for community care and self-care?
- Share your grief and take rest as needed and find your role(s) in addressing how this impacts survivors.
- Address burnout: focus on the wins and the difference that you can make, where you can make it. Be gentle with yourself.
- Acknowledging and talking about burnout and the emotional toll of this work is critical.
- Courage is contagious and studies show being engaged in your community and giving back is rewarding and healing. Be in community.
- Check out resources offered by FORGE and check out their new recorded webinar on IPV, Authoritarianism, and trans lives: https://youtu.be/rPGAoJy8e7E?si=BMWMsMrrbUCnmrtt
References
Immigration Equality, National Immigrant Justice Center, and Human Rights First, (2024). No Human Being Should Be Here. The Mistreatment of LGBTQ and HIV Positive People in U.S. Federal Immigration Jails. Retrieved from: https://immigrantjustice.org/sites/default/files/content-type/research-item/documents/2024-06/2024-06-18_FINAL%20detention%20report.pdf
LGBTQ Nation. (2026). Minneapolis is still aching. Trans state Rep. Leigh Finke says America must not look away. Retrieved from: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/02/minneapolis-is-still-aching-trans-state-rep-leigh-finke-says-america-must-not-look-away/
Minnesota Anti-Violence Coalitions Joint Statement in Support of Minnesota Immigrant Communities. (2026). Retrieved from: https://shorturl.at/o9o5e
Minnesota Council of Non Profits. (2026). Resources: supporting community during ICE operations. Retrieved from: https://minnesotanonprofits.org/ice-resources#nonprofit-guidance
Minnesota Public Radio News. (2026). Becca Good: ‘Renee always showed up’
Retrieved from: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/07/becca-good-renee-always-showed-up
Ms. Magazine (2026). How Misogyny and White Nationalism Converge in ICE Enforcement. Retrieved from: https://msmagazine.com/2026/01/27/ice-recruitment-women-violence-lesbian-masculinity/
Star Tribune. (2026). Renee Good came to Minneapolis seeking a safe place. Less than a year later, she was killed. Retrieved from: https://www.startribune.com/renee-good-found-refuge-in-minneapolis-then-ice-arrived/601560595