Ekaterina Azrapkina, an activist with the non-profit organization Ours in the USA, which specializes in assisting LGBTQ+ individuals from post-Soviet countries, has highlighted the plight of dozens of such individuals held in U.S. immigration detention centers.
They are being detained for months after seeking asylum due to fears of persecution in their home countries.
According to Azrapkina, most of the detainees she is aware of are Russians enduring horrific conditions while waiting for their cases to be heard. She believes there may be many more individuals in similar situations.
Azrapkina states that Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ detainees are often forced to sleep on the floor without warm blankets, exposing them to severe illnesses. Some are already participating in a lawsuit against private prisons in Louisiana, which Azrapkina describes as one of the most dangerous places for sexual minorities.
Nearly all Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ asylum seekers enter the U.S. through the land border at Tijuana, Mexico, and prefer to remain in California. However, they are frequently transferred to other states.
Vitaly Ataev Troshin, SlavicSac.com
California Local News Fellowship
