On June 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations began across Los Angeles, leading to the arrest of over 100 people by the end of the weekend, prompting widespread protests, and resulting in the Trump administration’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the streets of Los Angeles.

Our new study focuses on the foreign-born LGBT adult population in Los Angeles County that could be affected by increased immigration enforcement in the area. Results show that 10% of all LGBT adult immigrants in the U.S.—approximately 122,000 people—live in Los Angeles County. Around 49,000 of them do not have U.S. citizenship, including 26,000 who hold lawful residency and 23,000 who are undocumented.

A new report from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study examined how adult children born and raised by lesbian parents cope with the current climate of LGBTQ stigmatization. The researchers specifically explored whether strategies like educating others about discrimination or directly resisting it could reduce the negative impacts of perceived stigma on the mental health of the offspring.

Overall, the 75 offspring reported relatively high scores on life satisfaction and low scores on psychological distress, with their levels of perceived stigma relatively low. However, the findings revealed a significant association between perceived stigma and lower levels of life satisfaction for those offspring who frequently used education about discrimination as a coping strategy.

The researchers hypothesize that the continuous effort of explaining the effects of discrimination may be exhausting and emotionally draining. As they clarify and defend their experiences, they may become more aware of the stigma and discrimination they face, which could lead to reduced life satisfaction.

Stacy Castellanos | Jung Fellow

Stacy (he/they) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Community Health Sciences department at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. They previously conducted community-engaged research that explored the experiences and perceptions of historically marginalized and oppressed peoples. Stacy earned his B.A. in Psychology from CSU Long Beach and M.A. in Social Psychology from San Francisco State University. 

Jack Feng | Palm Fellow 

Jack (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, specializing in structural, psychosocial, and behavioral intervention research for HIV and STIs. He has an M.H.S. in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a B.A. in Biochemistry and Ethics & Public Policy from the University of Iowa.

Shirin Herzig | Morgan Fellow 

Shirin (she/her) is a Master of Social Welfare student at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She previously served as a research specialist at the USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, where she coordinated several studies on discrimination, substance use, and mental health among marginalized populations. Shirin received a B.A. in Psychology and Narrative Studies from USC.

Alfredo Trejo III| Badgett Fellow 

Alfredo (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at UCLA. His research interests are in International Political Economy, the causes and consequences of migration, and the intersection between law, sexuality, and disease. Alfredo advocates for the rights of people living with HIV. He is a Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voice Fellow and an alumnus of Tin House and Write It Out!

Thank you to our generous donors for their support of our summer social science fellows.

Join us for a webinar on the current political and legal environment regarding LGBTQ research funding and data collection and its impact on the work of independent and early-career researchers and our understanding of LGBTQ communities.

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law is an academic research institute dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.