A 27-year-old gay native of Honduras who has lived in Broward County for the past decade is seeking to regain asylum in the United States after being deported on March 10. The man fears for his life if he must stay in his homeland, a nation in which approximately 80 LGBT individuals have been tortured, murdered, or both in the past four years by various groups including police officers.
The man originally followed his high-school boyfriend after an abuse-filled youth to Broward County in 2005 and found employment at a Colombian fast-food establishment. According to his partner, he was living a regular life in the area until he was asked in March to visit the Miami Immigration Court to check the battery on the ankle bracelet he wore as part of his asylum agreement. For reasons unexplained in news reports, he was deported within a week of the court visit.
Now, he is reportedly planning to cross the border back into Texas to return to Florida. His attorney expressed confidence in the eventual result of his case, which requires convincing the court that the man has more than a 50 percent chance of being harmed in Honduras; however, he added that he would have to give the man to immigration officers if he came to his law office due to his illegal reentry.
In a case like this, the court’s decision could mean life or death for an immigrant. In order to convince the court that restoring his client’s asylum is critical to his safety, the attorney in this case may refer to the UN’s statistics indicating Honduras’ extraordinary homicide rate as well as evidence of increasing hostilities toward gays. He may also seek the testimony of the man’s partner regarding the abuses the man suffered growing up.
Source: New Times, “Gay Honduran Immigrant Fights to Stay in Florida to Escape Torture, Abuse, Lawyer Says“, Allie Conti, June 02, 2014
