LGBT Refugees Seek US Asylum

A caravan of 16 LGBT Central American migrants including 11 transgender women arrived at the US-Mexico border in Arizona to request asylum Thursday. They were joined by hundreds of supporters rallying to urge officials to end trans detention. A transgender asylum-seeker who fled Nicaragua stated, “Where I come from physical, psychological & verbal abuse is the norm for indigenous transwomen like me. I had to leave my tribal community by the age of 12 or face the dangerous consequences at the hands of my own tribal government & that was just the beginning.” Keren Zwick, Associate Director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center added “These individuals are fleeing persecution at home & are crossing today with hope that the United States will uphold its obligation to give each of them a full & fair opportunity to seek protection through our country’s asylum system. We call on the U.S. government to allow them to pursue their legal cases in the safety of the communities that are rallying around them today.” As they crossed into the United States & made their way into the port they were taken into custody around noon. Though ICE could not say where any of the 16 gay & transgender migrants might be sent Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, Immigration & Customs Enforcement spokeswoman stated, “The decision to detain or release an individual under the agency’s alternative to detention (ATD) program is made based upon the individual facts & circumstances of the case.”
For More Info: immigrantjustice.org
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