1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to stop the deportation of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers to countries where they face imprisonment, torture, or death. The current administration's use of third-country transfer agreements is placing vulnerable people in mortal danger, and this practice violates our nation's commitment to protecting those fleeing persecution. On July 29, 2025, the United States signed a 4-page agreement with Uganda allowing immigration authorities to transfer third-country nationals there for examination of protection requests. This is particularly alarming because Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, passed in 2023, prescribes life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relationships and allows for the death penalty in cases labeled "aggravated homosexuality." Government attorneys are now asking immigration judges to dismiss asylum claims without fully adjudicating them by citing Uganda as an alternative destination. Attorney Bekah Wolf of the American Immigration Council has identified a troubling nationwide pattern in immigration courts. She represents a gay Moroccan man in his late 20s who has been detained for more than a year, with his case repeatedly postponed due to interpreter unavailability. She also represents two gay Iranian men in a relationship whom the administration has sought to deport to Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, torture, or death. These men fled Iran after being targeted for their sexual orientation, had their asylum claims denied without legal representation, and only avoided deportation on a Sunday flight due to a federal court stay and measles quarantine. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ+ Rights, stated that ICE agents are being sent to "grab, detain, and immediately deport law-abiding gay and transgender people, who have committed no crimes" to countries like Uganda "where there is a death penalty for being LGBTQ." I urge you to publicly oppose these deportations, introduce or support legislation to halt third-country transfers to countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people, and demand oversight hearings on these practices. Lives depend on Congressional action.