US ‘Welcome Corps’ helps resettle LGBTQ+ refugees fleeing crackdowns against gay people

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A program that helps refugees resettle in the United States has expanded to include LGBTQ+ people who have been threatened and harassed in their home countries. The Biden Administration announced Tuesday that it resettled 100,000 refugees last fiscal year, the most in more than three decades. Many come through the Welcome Corps, a federal program that pairs refugees with volunteers to help them adjust. The nonprofit Rainbow Railroad has worked with the Welcome Corps to resettle 23 LGBTQ+ refugees. One was Cabrel Ngounou, who fled Cameroon, was sexually assaulted in prison in Libya and was harassed in Tunisia before reaching San Francisco, where he says he finally feels free.