A group of transgender asylum-seekers who were part of the so-called caravan that Donald Trump fearmongered about late last year have won their cases and been freed from federal immigration detention, CBS News reports. “I feel so happy,” said one asylee in a video posted by immigrant rights advocacy group RAICES, “because I know I’m heading to my new life.”
The 10 were part of the 80 or so LGBTQ asylum-seekers, called “La Comunidad,” that presented themselves at the southern border, grouping together as a matter of protection while making their journey north. It was bad enough that they were being mistreated by fellow asylum-seekers, but once in U.S. custody, abuse continued, and some said they were subjected to "discriminatory” and “derogatory slurs” while detained at the South Texas Detention Center.
Even after arriving at our border in search of safety, trans people are extremely vulnerable to abuse while in immigration detention. “From 2009 to 2013, 1 in 5 substantiated allegations of sexual assault in ICE detention facilities had a transgender victim,” the Center for American Progress reported. “In addition to sexual assault, LGBTQ people in detention face verbal and physical abuse; prolonged solitary confinement; and the withholding of critical health care needs, such as hormone therapy or HIV medication.”
RAICES, which has also done heroic work reuniting families torn apart under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, sprang into action to assist the group members, including securing sponsors who could provide asylees with housing following their release. After months of detention, 10 were released. “We still can’t believe it,” read another tweet from RAICES. “We work in a field where we don’t normally get to celebrate. We end up crying more than we laugh. We don’t do it expecting to win.”
RAICES attorney Cristian Sanchez told CBS News that “20 or so transgender women remain in custody at South Texas awaiting court dates or have already lost their cases.” Deportation can mean death for trans migrants in particular. In February, trans advocacy group Asociación Aspidh Arcoiris Trans told the Washington Blade that a trans asylum-seeker who was deported by the U.S. several months ago died from injuries she sustained in an attack in El Salvador.
These are the vulnerable people that the Trump administration keeps attacking for political gain, all the while taking steps to make their lives as miserable as possible. Estrellita, one of the 10 asylum-seekers in the group demonized by the Trump administration, said she wants to use her new chance at life to help others who have been in her shoes. "So many advocates have helped me,” she said, “and I want to turn around and help others.”