Upcoming events.
A More Perfect Quilt: Immigrants, Queers, and New York City
NYC Immigrant Heritage Week 2026
April 16, 2026
Hosted by Refuge America Inc.
Refuge America invites you to celebrate NYC Immigrant Heritage Week 2026.
Guests will enjoy: A tour of the exhibition at this historic site.
A jukebox experience featuring music that defined an era of courage and change
Food by Eat Offbeat
GUEST SPEAKER
Henry Trieu
He arrived in the United States from Vietnam at 14 as a refugee and grew up in San Francisco. He studied art at the University of California, Davis, then pivoted to digital design at the start of the Silicon Valley dot-com era, building a long career in tech while also working as a cook on weekends.
After moving to New York, he left corporate design in 2013 to open Falansai, a Vietnamese restaurant in Brooklyn that earned consistent Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. He later sold the restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to design.
He lives in New York with his family. As a former refugee, I find the ability to travel for pleasure a great blessing.
Special Guest of Honor
Council Member Elsie Encarnacion (Chair) of City Council’s Committee on Immigration
Council Member Council Member (Co-Chair) of City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus
About the Event
In 1613, Juan Rodriguez became the first recorded immigrant to arrive in what would become New York. In 1907, Ellis Island saw more than 11,000 arrivals in a single day. Today, that spirit of arrival continues—though the journey looks different.
A More Perfect Quilt is a community gathering honoring the layered identities that shape New York: immigrant, queer, seeker of safety, builder of culture. Like a quilt, our city is stitched together by stories of movement, courage, and belonging.
A focused conversation on the realities facing LGBTQIA+ newcomers: legal barriers, chosen family networks, faith, housing, and creative resistance.
Sponsors
We are grateful for the partners helping make this gathering possible:
Ally Sponsor: Joyce Bernstein
Funding made possible by The Puffin Foundation Ltd
Hands Off: Black History, Black Futures, Collective Care
We gather during Black History Month to examine the present and take responsibility for the future we are shaping together.
We have witnessed attacks on Black immigrants, including the Trump administration’s demonization of African nations as “shithole countries.” Travel restrictions were expanded to include several African nations such as Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Eritrea often citing security concerns that critics argued were pretextual.
Black history is lived every day through migration, policing, labor, housing, and the fight for belonging. For Black asylum seekers and refugees, it crosses borders, carrying resilience and survival into a country that often claims freedom while withholding safety.
Panelist
This virtual event centers speakers with lived experience who invite us to slow down, listen deeply, and tell the truth about who is protected, who is punished, and who is expected to endure in silence. Together, we will imagine communities grounded in dignity, shared responsibility, and care.
Steven Muleme is a Ugandan queer activist, writer, and cultural organizer based in New York. He is the Founder and Executive Director of African Queer Voices (AQV), a nonprofit amplifying African LGBTIQ+ voices through storytelling, arts, and community-centered advocacy. He serves on the Global Advisory Council of the Franklin & Marshall Global Barometers, as Vice President of Global Outreach at InterPride, and as a Board Member of Refuge America.
Tania Mattos, a proud Aymara descendant born in Bolivia and raised in Queens, NY, is a seasoned organizer, activist, and policy advocate with nearly two decades of experience. A founding member of Abolish ICE NY/NJ and Queens Neighborhoods United, she has fought detention, displacement, and police abuse. After winning her own fight to stay in the U.S., she now serves as Executive Director of UnLocal, supporting immigrant communities nationwide.
Policy alone does not keep people safe. Community does our presence matters.
Welcomers Gathering
Welcomers Gathering 2025 In Collaboration with Eat Off Beat
A summit for NGO workers and supporters of LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers. As part of Refuge America’s commitment to provide safety and settlement, this event brings key participants together to share information, ideas and supportive resources.
This is a unique opportunity for supporters of equitable resettlement to join with others with shared visions from around the world.
RSVP by Monday Sept. 15th 2025
World Refugee Day Pride Exhibition 2024
World Refugee Day Pride Exhibition 2024
Welcome to "Refuge America Pride Exhibition: An Exhibition of LGBTQ+ Refugee Stories." In this compelling showcase, we delve into the lives of six courageous individuals who have traversed continents, braved adversity, and triumphed against all odds.
Join us at The NYC LGBT Community Center 208 West 13th Street, New York, NY, USA for a day filled with art, music, and community.
This exhibition provides an invaluable opportunity for the public to engage in meaningful conversations, celebrate diversity, and support the integration of LGBTQ refugees into our communities.
Event Highlights:
Installation of traveling exhibitions portraying the stories of LGBTQ Refugees.
Refreshments and conversations with refugees and partner organizations.
Learn about new pathways for sponsoring LGBTQ Refugees to the United States.
To learn more about Refuge 25 please visit: Refugee 25
We are looking for sponsors please write to us: admin@refugeamerica.org
Refugee 25 Pride Exhibition: Washington D.C.
Refuge America proudly presents the "Refugee 25 Pride Showcase" in Washington D.C. during the Pride Festival Parade.
Welcome to "Refuge America Pride Exhibition: An Exhibition of LGBTQ+ Refugee Stories." In this compelling showcase, we delve into the lives of six courageous individuals who have traversed continents, braved adversity, and triumphed against all odds.
Join us at St Thomas’ Parish 1517 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA for a day filled with art, music, and community.
This exhibition provides an invaluable opportunity for the public to engage in meaningful conversations, celebrate diversity, and support the integration of LGBTQ refugees into our communities.
Event Highlights:
Installation of traveling exhibitions portraying the stories of LGBTQ Refugees.
Refreshments and conversations with refugees and partner organizations.
Learn about new pathways for sponsoring LGBTQ Refugees to the United States.
To learn more about Refuge 25 please visit: Refugee 25
We are looking for sponsors please write to us: admin@refugeamerica.org
Dignity Not Detention 2024
Refuge America in collaboration with Waterwell Theater is proud to present Do Not Tell Them I am a Prince, a poignant exploration of the harrowing realities of U.S. immigrant detention.
In Nigeria, a gay man named Edafe finds himself trapped in the suffocating grip of violent persecution and makes the painful decision to flee his homeland. He arrives at JFK airport hoping to find refuge, but ends up confined within the walls of an ICE detention center. Struggling to reconcile his shattered expectations, Edafe's story is a poignant exploration of the harrowing realities of U.S. immigration detention.
WRITTEN BY: Edafe Okporo
2024 NYC Tour Performances
Performed By: Amara James Aja
Directed By: NJ Agwuna
You can come see this special performance that tells the real-life story of a Nigerian asylum seeker who was held in immigration detention for almost 6 months - a poignant exploration of the harrowing realities of U.S. immigration detention that can be part of igniting our collective movement to end it in New York State.
The performance will be followed by a Town Hall discussion with directly impacted people and organizers talking about how we can build power to pass the Dignity Not Detention Act.
Autumn of Hope for LGBTQ Refugees
Embracing possibility - Autumn of Hope for LGBTQ Refugees
Join Us in Making a Difference for LGBTQ Refugees:
We are excited to invite you to a special event that aims to shed light on the challenges faced by LGBTQ refugees around the world and take steps towards creating a safer, more inclusive world for them.
Performance by Marti Cummings, a NYC drag artist, television personality, and political figure.
Performance by Alex Charles, a New Jersey based singer, saxophonist and music producer.
Meet our special guest of honor. Queer Ugandan activist Steven Muleme. Our guest speaker, is a gay Ugandan LGBTQIA+ advocate, founder, and director of an organization called Visual Echoes for Human Rights Advocacy (VEHRA), founded in 2017. The organization brings together some of Uganda’s most marginalized LGBTQIA+ community members to connect through sport, art, and economic empowerment. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Commercial Industrial art and design from Nkumba University.
Let's come together this autumn season to make a lasting impact.
This event is by RSVP only. To attend please email us: admin@refugeamerica.org
One Journey Refugee Festival
One Journey Festival 2023
Join us for the fourth annual One Journey Festival to celebrate the talents and contributions of refugees. Our Director Edafe Okporo will be speaking and Refugee America take action tent will be on display.
Venue: Washington National Cathedral 3101 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, DC 20016
Register for free link
Dignity Not Detention
NY, Let's End Immigration Detention!
You’re invited to a community event with the Dignity Not Detention Campaign on Thursday June 22nd from 6 - 8 p.m. EDT! You’ll hear from organizers and people directly impacted by immigrant detention about the realities of ICE detention in New York and the shortcomings of the state’s response to people seeking asylum. Our conversation will invite folks to take action in support of the Dignity Not Detention Act, which has the power to end immigrant detention in New York!
The event will include a performance of “Do Not Let Anyone Know I am a Prince,” a poignant exploration of the harrowing realities of U.S. immigrant detention. This 15-minute play by Edafe Okporo will be performed by Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire, Broadway’s To Kill a Mockingbird), directed by Raz Golden, and produced by Waterwell.
Food will be served, and COVID precautions are in effect (see below for more details).
Date: June 22, 2023 from 6 - 8 p.m. EDT
Location: Bronx Music Heritage Center, 1303 Louis Niñé Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10459
RSVP by filling out this form by Tuesday June 20th.
Link to register
Launch of Welcome Program
Refuge America gathering of donors, volunteers and community members to celebrate the launch of our new program.