A Russian woman and a trans woman from Mexico are among those who have opened up about the reasons they fled their home countries for the United States.
In a powerful video produced by not-for-profit organisation Immigration Equality, LGBTIQ+ refugees have explained why they were forced to seek a new life overseas.
According to Alena Sandimirova, a lesbian woman who left Russia for the US in 2009, the best-case scenario of life in Russia was living in the closet.
"You can't hold hands, you can't live your life out," she says in the video.
“I filed for asylum because I didn’t feel safe," she continues, adding that the danger extended to her friends and family.
Sandimirova then describes the "amazing" feeling of being granted asylum in the United States, saying that she "felt protected."
“As of 2017, I’m a citizen of the United States. Coming here has allowed me to realise my full potential… and saved me from suicide.
For Ishalaa Ortega, a trans woman from Mexico, years of death threats and targeting from anti-LGBTIQ+ politicians forced her to cross the border in the United States in 2013, where she was first sent to a detention facility.
“It was very painful to be in prison when I was asking, yelling out for help," she says in the Immigration Equality clip.
She continues: "No-one would respond to me except Immigration Equality. I found this amazing organisation who stand by me through this journey.”
Having received her green card earlier this year, Ortega now works as a case manager for people living with HIV.
“We came to this country to contribute," she says.
"We came to this country to help others too.”
