ICE holds over 100 trans people in custody

Trans woman dies in ICE custody

According to ICE Spokesperson Danielle Bennett, there are 111 transgender people being held in 20 different facilities across the US. Of this number, 45 trans women are being held in the South Texas Detention Complex.

Roxsana Hernandez, a transgender woman, died while in ICE custody on May 25. She was 33 years old and was HIV positive. Her death caused outrage among activists. An autopsy also suggested she may have been beaten before she died; although the cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest.

Democratic senators Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Kamala Harris, wrote a letter to ICE asking for an explanation of Hernandez’s death.

"The Transgender Law Center had an independent autopsy performed that suggested severe complications of dehydration on top of an H.I.V. infection and also suggested that Ms. Hernández was beaten with a baton or similar object while she was restrained by handcuffs,” the letter read.

Reports also said Hernandez endured freezing temperatures and was denied adequate food, water, and medical care while in custody.

Bennett denied these accusations.

“When I found out the news (that she had died) it was very impactful,” Estuardo Juarez Moscoso told The Washington Blade. Moscoso works for a Guatemala City-based advocacy group that provides help to LGBTQ+ migrants.

According to an article from Gay Star News, many LGBTQ+ people seek asylum in the United States after fleeing persecution in their home countries, especially in South America - the deadliest continent for trans people.