In 1981, Borjas emigrated to the United States at twenty years old, with the goal of obtaining hormone therapy and transitioning to live as a woman.

[5][4] Taking a job in a belt factory,[1] she initially shared an apartment in the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens[9] with 20 transgender women who worked as sex workers.

[2] She became a counselor for the Community Healthcare Network's Transgender Family Program, where she worked to obtain legal aid for victims of human trafficking.

[4] During the coronavirus pandemic, Borjas created and promoted a mutual aid fund, via GoFundMe, to help transgender people who were impacted by the economic crisis.

She supported herself through a variety of jobs, including counseling sessions, community outreach, occasional talks, and cleaning houses.

[14] Her life project was to create a safe space for TGNCNB (Transgender, Gender non-conforming, and Non-Binary) people in Queens, however, due to her death, she was unable to execute this dream.

Liaam Winslet (Executive Director, Colectivo Intercultural Transgrediendo) is helping to bring this dream to reality, known as Casa Trans Lorena Borjas.

[17] Following her death, New York City Council member Francisco Moya announced plans to rename a street in his district after her.

[4] Starting in 2010, Borjas sought to have her own criminal record expunged, with the legal support of the Transgender Law Center.

[4][25] In recognition of her community activism, she was granted a pardon in 2017 by New York governor Andrew Cuomo, restoring her status as a legal immigrant, an outcome she had considered "farfetched and nearly impossible.

[2][26] She received memorials and tributes online from many public figures, including Chase Strangio,[9] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,[27] Letitia James, Corey Johnson, and Monica Roberts.

[10] A funeral service was organized by friends and loved ones via Zoom, due to social distancing restrictions, with about 250 people in attendance.