September 2026
QARAVAN joins the New York City Trans and Queer Coalition
In September 2026, QARAVAN joined The New York City Trans and Queer Coalition (NYCTQC), which is calling on the City to create a $15 million LGBTQ+ Immigrant Legal Services Fund, because many LGBTQ+ asylum seekers cannot find or afford a lawyer.
Legal help is what QARAVAN’s community asks for most. Of the 127 requests for help that reached QARAVAN through its website from January to October 2026, 48 were about legal help, more than housing, health care and mental health combined. One in three people who answered QARAVAN’s 2026 Community Needs Survey asked for help with an immigration case.
“Every week people write to us because they have an asylum hearing coming up and no lawyer,” said Ezra Abdullabekov, QARAVAN’s Acting Executive Director. “This year, 48 of the 127 requests for help we received were about legal help, and most of these people cannot afford an attorney. A city fund for LGBTQ+ immigrant legal services would give them a fair chance to stay safe in New York.”
On October 6, 2026, the coalition and the Caribbean Equality Project held the “From Solidarity to Action” rally on the steps of City Hall, where more than 125 people called for the fund.
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About QARAVAN
QARAVAN is a New York nonprofit community of LGBTQ+ immigrants, asylum seekers and allies, founded in 2008. It brings people together, publishes free resource guides in Russian and English, and organizes Brighton Beach Pride.