Immigration + LGBTQ Communities Issue Brief
Published: May 6, 2026
Author(s): Deekshita Ramanarayanan, Sammy Luffy
Topic(s): Immigration, Special Report
Region: National
The Immigration + LGBTQ Communities Issue Brief outlines the latest data at the intersection of immigration and LGBTQ issues in the United States. This resource covers demographic data related to LGBTQ immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, as well as the philanthropic landscape at this intersection. The issue brief also includes an analysis of LGBTQ asylum seekers globally, the U.S. asylum process, as well as LGBTQ immigrants’ access to HIV/AIDS services and the conditions and treatment of LGBTQ immigrants in detention.
This issue brief was sponsored by Liberty Hill Foundation and features a call to action from Shane Murphy Goldsmith, President and CEO of Liberty Hill Foundation, and an introduction to the data by Isa Noyola, Director of Border Butterflies Project. Funders for LGBTQ Issues would like to thank the following individuals and institutions that reviewed and provided feedback on this issue brief: Anduriña Espinoza and Ivy Suriyopas from Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), Isa Noyola from Border Butterflies Project, and Jonathan Jayes-Green from the Black Migrant Power Fund.
About these Issue Briefs
In the past several years, LGBTQ communities have been at the crosshairs of a coordinated and vicious strategy to strip away our rights. In the United States, these attacks on bodily autonomy have taken the shape of executive actions and state legislation seeking to criminalize queer and trans existence–from the administration’s targeting of trans youth, to blocking global aid recipients from supporting trans rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and the nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in state legislatures across the country thus far in 2026, an intersectional response from philanthropy is needed.
The impact of these attacks are vast and far-reaching, with Black and Brown people, immigrants, and not only rural, but global LGBTQ communities left most vulnerable. In this context, Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ 2023 Annual Resource Tracking Report found a 19% decrease in philanthropic investment for LGBTQ communities and issues in the United States. This translates to a staggering $48.7 million drop from 2022 during a time when our communities are under attack. Similarly, funding awarded for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary communities decreased by 24%–or $11.7 million–from 2022 to 2023 as TGNC communities are being relentlessly targeted.
To strengthen philanthropy’s understanding of how the needs of LGBTQ communities intersect with related social justice issues and make the case for increased investment during this time of crisis, Funders for LGBTQ Issues is releasing a series of issue briefs offering a queer lens to intersectional topics, such as immigration, disability justice, and HIV/AIDS. The briefs will include relevant data at the intersection of the issue and LGBTQ communities, as well as provide actionable steps for grantmakers to center these issues in their grantmaking strategies. We believe this series will offer a critical case-making tool for funders across the philanthropic sector to engage more proactively in the urgent needs of our communities.
