Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) late yesterday released two asylum seekers living with HIV who were detained at an ICE detention facility in eastern Texas, less than one week after Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality, along with co-counsel Vinson & Elkins, submitted a letter demanding their release. The men were severely persecuted in Cuba because of their political activism and sexual orientation and had been detained in the U.S. since October 2019.

Today, Lambda Legal’s South Central Regional Office in Dallas urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Commissioner of Health Services to expand Medicaid coverage to ensure all uninsured Texans can access critical testing and other medical services during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

The couple was denied the opportunity to apply to serve as foster parents for refugee children because they did not “mirror the Holy Family.”

This week is Welcoming Week across the US; a week of activities designed to bring immigrant and non-immigrant communities together to interact and get to know each other.