A Transnational Life-Course Analysis of How Recently Arrived Latino Sexual Minority Migrant Men Pursue Security to Build Their Intimate Lives

Background

An emerging body of research has explored Latino sexual minority migrant men’s (LSMM) post-arrival health and social challenges; however, there remains limited understanding of how their life-course trajectories shape their sense of agency within structural constraints (e.g., lack of access to resources, heightened xenophobia). Furthermore, agency is often conceptualized as binary, either present or absent, leaving a gap in understanding how LSMM navigate structural barriers in pursuit of their goals.

This study helps fill this gap by using a transnational life-course perspective to examine how agency “thickens” and “thins” (i.e., expands or becomes constrained) across the migration trajectory. This inquiry is particularly urgent following the 2025 political transition, where heightened immigration enforcement created a new landscape of surveillance and risk. The study asks: How do recently arrived LSMM navigate the limits of their agency while pursuing security to build the intimate lives they desire?

Methods

The study is part of a larger mixed-methods study examining how structural barriers affect HIV prevention among LSMM. We conducted 17 semi-structured interviews in Spanish and English with cisgender LSMM (ages 19-52) who arrived in the U.S. within the last five years. The sample represents individuals from Venezuela (n=8), Colombia (n=6), Nicaragua (n=2), and the Dominican Republic (n=1). Participants were recruited via convenience sampling through community-based methods and completed an online survey where they elected to participate in interviews. Interviews covered their early lives in their countries of origin, the migration process, and their arrival in the U.S., with a focus on health and social experiences. Constructivist grounded theory, along with the sensitizing concept of intersectional life-course theory was used to code and analyze the interviews.

Findings

The analysis identified a consistent process by which LSMM pursue security and intimacy within shifting and often hostile structural contexts. This trajectory was defined by four key turning points: (1) Experiencing Homophobic Violence in the Country of Origin, (2) Negotiating a Migratory Path, (3) Trying to Settle in Amid Economic Pressure, and (4) Managing Visibility Under Heightened Immigration Enforcement. Each turning point either expanded or constricted participants’ agency amid multiple structural barriers; yet even within the most constrained, or “thin”, participants showed that they utilized adaptive strategies of concealment and intentional networking to move forward in their pursuit of security to express their intimate selves. Our findings complicate existing scholarship that construct LSMM’s arrival in the U.S. as one that wholly increases their agency to build their intimate lives. Rather, participants experienced a shift in what identities were systemically targeted, from sexual orientation in their country of origin to their immigration status and race in the U.S.

Conclusion and Implications

Future research should continue to use a transnational life-course perspective to understand the complex ways LSMM experience oppression and how they strategically maneuver in response. Practitioners serving LSMM may also take a life-course perspective, helping to connect the dots between current behaviors and earlier life experiences. Finally, policymakers should consider how heightened enforcement disrupts community integration and functions as a negative structural determinant of health.