🌈 Support Our Rapid Response to Protect LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers 🌈
In the days since the U.S. election, our team has been meeting with immigrant advocate partners regionally and around the country, and planning internally to figure out how we can most effectively protect our community before the new administration takes office in January 2025.
There is a lot we do not know yet, but we do know that the new administration is making both threats and promises that would place undocumented LGBTQ+ immigrants and asylum seekers at significant risk of deportation and forced into life-threatening conditions. We also believe it is likely that Trump will try to gut the asylum system as we know it and restrict any benefits asylum seekers currently have. If you are able to give before December 31, 2024, your support will help us:
File applications for 74 asylum seekers between now and January 17th in order to ensure these individuals have some protection from deportation.
File at least 92 additional work permit applications between now and December 20th. Although Trump cannot immediately deport those who have applied for asylum, he may try to make their lives as difficult as possible. We believe he may seek to limit asylum seekers' ability to apply for work authorization. Our clients rely on work authorization for their livelihoods.
Continue to work on collective actions with advocates regionally and nationally to protect as many LGBTQ+ immigrants as possible before January 20th. Getting updated and accurate information out to our community remains a high priority.
In order to ensure that our team has sufficient resources to complete such a significant amount of additional casework within the next eight weeks, we are seeking $138,800 in rapid response funding. We have reached out to over one dozen foundation partners to help us meet this goal and we are asking for individual community member support as well.
The amount of work our team is carrying out in a few weeks would normally take a whole year to complete. We do this for our community and to protect as many LGBTQ+ immigrants as possible from potential deportation and harm. Please consider any financial support you might be able to give, and share our campaign with anyone who could support our efforts.
All donations before December 31, 2024 will help us meet our immediate short-term goals. Oasis Legal Services is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent of the law.