David Hunt:

In 2019, the CBS news program 60 Minutes spent six months following the exploits of a small nonprofit agency based in Toronto, Canada, — Rainbow Railroad — as it worked to assist LGBTQ people facing hostile, often violent, repression around the world. 

The program’s cameras accompanied the agency’s then-CEO, Kimahli Powell, into a storm drain beneath the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, where Powell met with a gay man who had gone into hiding, in fear for his life.

And 60 Minutes’ cameras were at Powell’s side to document the happy reunion in Canada of two Egyptian gay men — men who had been arrested two years earlier for daring to raise a rainbow flag at a concert in Cairo.

A lot has changed in the six years since CBS news raised the visibility of LGBTQ refugees — some for the better. There are fewer places in the world where same-sex intimacy is outlawed, for example. But there’s also been a rising tide of intolerance — notably in the United States and other Western democracies, throwing some of that progress into doubt.

I’m David Hunt. Kimahli Powell left Rainbow Railroad in 2024 after more than seven years at its helm. But he remains deeply involved in advocating for human rights — as a member of the board of directors of Refugee Council USA and as a Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center at Harvard.

I sat down with Powell to discuss the world’s refugee crisis and specifically how LGBTQ people are disadvantaged in seeking help when their countries, communities and sometimes even their homes are unsafe.

Kimahli Powell: 

We now have over 120 million people around the world who are displaced. That number is rapidly increasing. Those numbers provided by the United Nations higher Commission for refugees include people who are displaced in other countries. So, they fled one country and are in another, waiting for resettlement. And then others who are trapped in their own country. And so, for LGBTQI plus people, if you are victims of violence either from your families or communities you usually have no choice but to flee to another country that criminalized same sex intimacy or you or displaced in your country.

Most of the people who I who I witnessed and through the team who are seeking assistance, don't necessarily wanna leave their country. Making decisions to leave is a pretty harrowing and tough decision. And I, I, I think it would be helpful to describe some of the ways LGBTQI plus people are uniquely vulnerable on the move or trying to navigate systems of migration. You know, first, even though people are fleeing countries based on war, climate, humanitarian issues the one, one silver lining is that they are often leaving with families or communities or have a support system as they navigate that migration process. For LGBTQI plus people, unfortunately, often they are victims of violence from their families and communities, and they're often leaving alone. If you are cisgendered male, you might have the privilege to have documents and the permission to travel.

If you are a cisgender female or trans woman or even a trans male, it's even more difficult. You may not have your documents, your identification might pass, may not match your gender. And permission to leave is harder. But also, if you are, many people that we helped are outed from their family members or communities. They're criminalized because their sexuality, which means that they may have lost their job … they may have been arrested, they may have been victims of violence. And so, all these factors make migration difficult. Let's say you are in Uganda which, you know, two years ago passed a pretty egregious anti LGBTQ plus law. You may have nowhere else to flee, but to Kenya, which also is criminalizing same sex intimacy.

And if you are actually able to pass that land border, you might try to register for, for a facility operated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. And depending on who the security guard is, you may not be able to enter. They may not let you in the facility. And if you are actually registered within the facility, you may not be, you may be stigmatized and discriminated within that refugee shelter, and then you're asked to wait right now for years.

David Hunt: 

Since its founding in 2006, Rainbow Railroad has received over 59,000 requests for help from individuals in over 190 countries facing persecution because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or sex characteristics. The group has helped tens of thousands of those people find resources and support within their home countries thanks to a global network of grassroots organizations. 

Not surprisingly, the process of resettling LGBTQ people in safer countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, is complex and time-consuming. In 2024, Rainbow Railroad resettled 242 people through its Emergency Travel Support Program. But most LGBTQ people in high-risk countries, such as Afghanistan, Russia and Egypt, have little choice but to remain where they are, despite the dangers.

To make matters worse, countries once seen as safe havens for refugees have pulled up the welcome mat.

Kimahli Powell:

There's no denying that we are facing a critical period where governments appear to be pulling back on their commitments to support refugees. In 2023, rainbow Railroad reached an agreement with the Canadian government a historic agreement where this was the first government that made an agreement with civil Society organization focused on plus refugees to refer them. And that was, that was my North Star main goal for the organization. And, you know the former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement at an event, and it was, it reached a, a critical period for the organization. And at the same time, I was making headway with the Biden administration at the time. And we had, you know, successfully relocated refugees in Europe and other countries. And you know, fast forward to 2025, and we've seen, you know, the United States all but dismantle the, the United States Refugee Admissions Program. We've seen even Canada reducing the immigration levels and other countries following suit. And so we are at this critical juncture where, at a time, as I said earlier, where we have more people on the move and displaced than ever before, that governments are pulling back on their commitments.

David Hunt:

You’re listening to Tell Me, David — Queer Stories Past and Present. I’m David Hunt, continuing my conversation with Kimahli Powell on the challenges facing LGBTQ refugees and asylum-seekers around the world.

During his years as CEO of Rainbow Railroad, Powell spearheaded campaigns to assist LGBTQ people at risk in some of the world’s most dangerous places. The organization collaborated with the Russian LGBT Network, which funded a network of safe houses to shelter gay men targeted in an anti-gay purge in Chechnya in 2017. By 2019, the organization had helped more than 70 gay men in Chechnya escape to safer countries.

After the fall of the U.S.-back Afghan government in 2021, Rainbow Railroad partnered with the Canadian government to prioritize queer asylum seekers. The organization helped facilitate the resettlement of hundreds of LGBTQ Afghans, even as the situation on the ground deteriorated. During the chaotic final days of the military airlift at the Kabul airport, Rainbow Railroad helped dozens of LGBTQ individuals get seats on flights out of the country. 

Kimahli Powell:

Afghanistan was one of the hardest interventions that I did during my time at Rainbow Railroad. … People who supported the coalition led by the United States mission to in the war in Afghanistan were all of a sudden at risk. And LGBTQI plus people were uniquely vulnerable because of their gender identity, sex or sexual orientation gender sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sex characteristics. And they, all the options to flee were bad options. Pakistan being one of them, UAE, other neighboring countries. And so we had to work really hard to find temporary solutions in countries and then to help them resettle in many countries, including the United, the United Kingdom and Canada.

David Hunt:

I read recently that the Trump administration was canceling visas for folks who had been resettled in the US from Afghanistan. And are these, are these people able to go somewhere else, or are they going to have to go back to Afghanistan? 

Kimahli Powell:

I think the options will be limited. I think, you know, the, the policy is really clearly for individuals who have temporarily or to seek sought refuge in the United States to return to the country. You, you know, you, if you're following the news you, you know of, you've heard of the stories around ICE you know, detaining and deporting individuals. You've heard stories of visas being revoked of, and this refugee resettlement emissions have been completely upended. So that's the climate that we're currently in right now.

David Hunt:

Donald Trump’s return to the White House this year has sent a chill through LGBTQ communities in the United States — especially alarming transgender people. And not just refugees and asylum-seekers, but even citizens and legal residents. As the Trump administration adopts policies rolling back legal protections for LGBTQ people, many see the writing on the wall and look to Canada as a refuge of last resort.

Since the November 2024 election, Rainbow Railroad has been swamped with thousands of requests for assistance from queer people living in the U.S. In fact, more requests have come from LGBTQ people in the United States than from residents of any other single country. It’s a worrying development.

Kimahli Powell:

The number of requests from the United States started to rise pretty steadily since the the Supreme's court ruling on Roe v. Wade and the and the clear suggestion that gay marriage and gay rights might be on the table. And I think you saw a lot of people be afraid and be afraid and to look at other options that number has increased, particularly around transgender persons who are facing discrimination, who are lacking gender affirming care who feel unsafe in their communities and looking at other options. It is, part of it is part of the research I've been doing at Harvard. I'm now a fellow at the Harvard Ryan Carr Center, or Car Ryan Center for human rights. And looking at what, whether, you know, trans persons can actually constitute being displaced as a group of people in a high income country like the United States.

Canada and the United States, you know, share the, the longest, I believe land border in the world. And there's an agreement called the Safe, Third Country Agreement between Canada, the United States. And, and if you, you know, the title suggests the policy that if you are a refugee or a asylum seeker and you a refugee, and you land in Canada, the United States from wherever your journey is, that you are safe. That those countries are deemed safe. And so you, there's no need and you cannot cross the border to seek refugee protection, right? That's, that's the premise of the agreement. …And it's remarkable that we're at this place where, you know, people and organizations are challenging whether the United States is deemed safe for LGBTQI+ persons, but also other communities itself.

David Hunt:

Despite the setbacks, Powell is hopeful the political pendulum will swing back and that Western democracies will once again embrace refugees and asylum seekers with open arms. 

Kimahli Powell:

I believe in all my being that we will win, and we have been winning, and that is what has people afraid. And that that is absolutely true. And I believe that when people who are anti LGBTQ plus have power, they will use that power to full, the full extent of their ability. And I think there's two lessons to be learned by from that. One is the movement and, and governments need to be progressive with the same amount of passion when they have the opportunity to, which does not always the case. And that organizations need to be resilient. They need to be nimble need to assess how they're doing work so that they can support people who are at risk.

David Hunt:

I’d like to thank Kimahli Powell for speaking with me for this program. Powell is on the board of directors of Refugee Council USA and serves as a Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at Harvard. Learn more about Rainbow Railroad at rainbowrailroad.org. For Tell Me, David, I’m David Hunt.