Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and other asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries experience abusive and dangerous conditions in Mexico when not allowed to cross the border to seek asylum. LGBT asylum seekers told Human Rights Watch they had been expelled even after expressing their fear of returning and telling border agents they identified as LGBT, had HIV, or had experienced abuse related to their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. One woman we interviewed fled to the United States from Honduras, where she previously faced targeted violence for living openly as a lesbian woman. Near the US border, people she believed to be members of a Mexican cartel kidnapped her and forcibly took nude photos of her. She said that when she explained to US border officials that she was a lesbian seeking asylum from Honduras and that she had also experienced abuse in Mexico, agents laughed at her. She was expelled to Honduras, and immediately fled again to the US border, this time afraid to seek asylum for fear of being returned to Honduras again. The United States has an obligation to protect refugees from returning to a threat of persecution, ill-treatment, and threats to life and safety. And President Biden has rightly committed to protecting LGBT refugees. He should follow through on that promise and ensure all asylum seekers are welcomed with dignity at the border. | 
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