Edafe Okporo | |
|---|---|
 Okporo canvassing on election day in 2025 | |
| Born | Edafe Okporo March 3, 1990 |
Edafe Okporo (born March 3, 1990) is a Nigerian-American author. He is the Executive Director of Refuge America, an organization that helps to resettle LGBTQ+ asylum-seekers. [1] Born in Warri, Nigeria, Okporo experienced violence in his home country because of his sexuality and was made to undergo conversion therapy. [2] Okporo sought asylum in the United States after being attacked by a mob for advocating for healthcare access for gay men. [3] [2]
When Okporo arrived in the United States, he was held at an ICE detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey for five months. [4] [5] After being granted asylum, Okporo became homeless, living at Newark Penn Station and at a shelter. [5] Once he found stable housing, Okporo served as the first director of RDJ Refugee Shelter, New York City's first shelter for asylum-seekers. [5] [2] Okporo wrote a book, Asylum: A Memoir and Manifesto, detailing his experience seeking asylum in the United States. [6] [3]
Okporo is currently running in a competitive race for New York City Council District 7, and if elected, he would be the first former asylum-seeker elected to that body. [4] [7] [8] Okporo is a David Prize recipient. [9]
