LGBTQI+ migration: moving beyond fixed categories and borders — Ahmed Hamila, Université de Montréal researcher and professor, wants to understand the realities of LGBTQI+ migrants so their needs can be properly addressed

Date published: August 06, 2026 | Estimated read time: 5 min Social SCiences and Humanities Research Council

Immigration is often a difficult process, marked by worry and uncertainty, as well as the complexity of administrative systems. However, these systems are not just used to determine migration status—they also categorize and determine who needs protection according to certain criteria.

“Existing migration categories do not always reflect the trajectories and realities of LGBTQI+ migrants,” notes Ahmed Hamila, assistant professor in the department of sociology at the Université de Montréal. “We try to fit these individuals into rigid administrative categories that determine who has access to rights, resources and protections, when their trajectories do not meet the criteria of those categories.”

It is this observation that led Hamila, who is also the university’s brand-new arts and sciences excellence chair in feminist, gender and sexuality studies, to study ways to think about the shifting and complex paths of LGBTQI+ migrants in a system of fixed categories, with the help of a SSHRC Insight Development Grant.

The research is rooted in very concrete situations. For example, when someone claims refugee protection after being persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, they have to present their case using administrative categories that are often limited, ethnocentric and based on western conceptions of LGBTQI+ identity—conceptions that demand sexual orientation or gender identity be stable, clearly labeled and expressed, and part of a coherent personal journey. But some people do not define themselves as “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual” or “trans”—they express their sexuality or gender differently and therefore cannot present their reality using the linear path asked of them.

Ahmed Hamila speaking at the conference Au-delà des frontières : migrations LGBTQI+ et solidarités transnationales, at Montréal’s Centre des mémoires montréalaises.

Photo: Kimura Boyl Lemoine

The problem is not only the rigidity of the migration categories, but also the administrative and cultural frameworks through which experiences are interpreted and credibility is assessed. This misalignment may prevent institutions from recognizing diverse paths and means of expression, thereby compromising the consideration of very real protection needs.

Agency and renegotiation

Through his work, Hamila analyzes the tangible impacts of the migration system and demonstrates how it can be improved. “By studying the multiplicity of realities and trajectories, we can show how to improve the system,” he concludes.

Hamila stresses that LGBTQI+ migrants do not just put up with the categories imposed on them; they develop strategies to test limits. “There is a tendency to portray these people as victims of an inflexible system, which implies they have no agency. My research seeks to understand how they deal with these categories and negotiate them in their daily lives.”

In that respect, art and religion are two useful outlets. Artistic creation allows people to express experiences of gender, sexuality and migration that are often not captured by administrative vocabulary and western identity categories. Through photography, performance, writing, dance or other forms of creation, paths can be illustrated in other ways; complex identities can be made visible; and lived experience can be transformed into a tool for recognition or collective engagement.

Religious practice can also become a space for reclamation. While some institutional and media discourses portray LGBTQI+ and religious identities as incompatible, many migrants express them in their daily lives. They reinterpret traditions, create inclusive community spaces and invent unique ways to reconcile their faith with their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Both art and religion make it possible to go beyond the linear narratives and rigid dichotomies that often underpin administrative categories. These practices are not just forms of individual expression; they also allow people to reclaim their history, assert multiple affiliations and reshape the frameworks through which an individual can be recognized.

Collaborative and participatory research

As part of his project, Hamila conducted 83 interviews with LGBTQI+ migrants who engage in an artistic or religious practice. “This is the largest collection of qualitative data in Quebec from a group that can be difficult for researchers to access,” he notes.

A page from Ahmed Hamila’s graphic novel, Là où germent nos voix : transmettre, célébrer et préparer demain.

Hamila believes it is important to involve affected individuals and the community organizations that serve them throughout the research process.

“I collaborated with AGIR Montréal—one of Quebec’s leading organizations supporting LGBTQI+ migrants and refugees—to navigate the issues, methodologies and theoretical framework.”

The goal is to align the research with the needs on the ground and to avoid “extractivism.” The researcher also aims to make this a long-term collaboration, through various projects, to create a social impact that goes beyond scientific publications.

Another way to share knowledge

As an extension of his work on LGBTQI+ migration, Hamila is studying the transnational solidarities that develop within and beyond LGBTQI+ communities and their activist networks. He is especially interested in transnational LGBTQI+ solidarities in the francophone world, and has many ongoing collaborations with colleagues and organizations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

In 2025, in response to this era of rising reactionary discourse, he joined forces with the organization Égides to co-organize a conference on transnational LGBTQI+ engagement, this time funded by a SSHRC Connection Grant. The event resulted in not only a scientific article, but also a graphic novel (in French)—an original knowledge-sharing vehicle designed to reach a wider audience.

“We couldn’t just aim our publications solely at academics; activists and LGBTQI+ individuals around the world also had to understand the urgent need to act and adapt,” says Hamila.

Want to learn more?

To learn more about Ahmed Hamila’s activities, visit his Université de Montréal web page (in French).