By Pooja Gehi
Over the past decade, both immigrant rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights have been key issues in United States political and legal debates. Yet, the two issue areas have rarely publicly intersected within these debates. The “war on terror” has heightened the public debate around immigration, national security, and border control; however, LGBTQ concerns and a discussion of LGBTQ immigrants continue to be rhetorically separate from these immigration-focused conversations. This rhetorical separation is especially problematic for those living at the intersections of different identities, including LGBTQ immigrants of color who live in poverty. As this Article will show, the separation ignores the ways in which individuals who do not fit the public description put forth by “rights-based” organizations are the most negatively impacted by the laws and regulations that are being publicly challenged by these mainstream groups.
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