COMMENTARY SURVIVING OVERLAPPING PRECARITY IN A ‘GIGANTIC HELLHOLE’: A CASE STUDY OF VENEZUELAN LGBTQI+ ASYLUM SEEKERS AND UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS IN BRAZIL AMID COVID-19 YVONNE SU, * TYLER VALIQUETTE ∗∗ AND YURIKO COWPER-SMITH *** TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction........................................................................................................... 155 Lack of Livelihood, Mounting Mental Health Issues and Uncertain Status ......... 157 Undocumented Migrants, Trochas and Precarious Belonging.............................. 159 Recommendations from LGBTQI+ Asylum Seekers and Undocumented Migrants .............................................................................................................................. 159 A Better Supporting Refugees During the Pandemic: What Can the Humanitarian Sector and the Government Do to Improve their Responses? .................................................................................................................. 160 B Lessons for the Future: Access to Documentation and Healthcare .......... 160 The Link between Being Undocumented and Statelessness ................................. 160 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 161 INTRODUCTION As COVID-19 infection rates grew exponentially in Latin America, countries closed their borders in an attempt to stop the virus. But such measures have put migrants, asylum seekers and other forcibly displaced persons at more risk. For highly precarious groups, such as Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers in Brazil, who were already facing a multitude of challenges before the pandemic, COVID-19 is multiplying the threats. 1 The closed borders have been a convenient cover for a growing humanitarian crisis as people are forced to move ‘illegally’ through dangerous paths. 2 As migration continues, the situation along the Brazilian–Venezuelan border has * Dr Yvonne Su is an assistant professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University. She researches forced migration, refugee protection and inequality. ∗∗ Tyler Valiquette is based in Brasilia and holds a MA in Political Science from the University of Guelph. He is a researcher on LGBTQI+ and refugee rights focusing on local, national and international responses. *** Dr Yuriko Cowper-Smith holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Guelph. She researches diaspora-led social movements, forced migration, statelessness, and genocide. 1 Yvonne Su, Yuriko Cowper-Smith and Tyler Valiquette, ‘LGBTQI+ Populations Face Unique Challenges During Pandemic’, Policy Options (online, 24 Jul 2020) <https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/july-2020/lgbtqi-populations-face-unique- challenges-during-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR3m5tUjNoqNjB- afLMttQHtE2aCBw_goQIqkpxv8NyqHkjN-T_3Yd9jzKs>. 2 Interview with Emilio Felix (Tyler Valiquette, Zoom, 5 March 2021).