The violence and mistreatment transgender immigrants face on a day to day basis doesn’t seem to get any easier once they’re in the United States. This country is known for its anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ people and the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Despite the social advances made for transgender individuals in the U.S., many of these men and women end up in detention centers, where they endure treatment similar to that which they thought they had successfully escaped from. Jorge Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement and an undocumented immigrant, aims to end the transphobic actions people face every day.
“In our experience working with Latina women from Mexico and Central America, it is because they are fleeing a violent transphobic community,” Gutiérrez says. “They are coming to us with the hope that the US is going to open [its] doors, and they can get the resources and support they need.”
After a transgender friend of hers was killed by a drug cartel, a woman known as S.A.C. from Guatemala fled to the U.S. seeking asylum. She was forced to spend nine months at the Stewart Detention Center, where only 6 percent of the detainees have legal representation.
Karolina López fled Acapulco, Mexico after getting raped. She received political asylum in the United States and got arrested after calling the police to report that her purse got stolen. They took her to Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, where she was subject to constant verbal, physical, and psychological abuse.
Upon her release, she became a core member of Mariposas Sin Fronteras (Butterflies Without Borders), whose members raise public awareness, help address legal issues, and visit detention centers. Belonging to two different minority groups, and the lack of representation and education makes people like S.A.C. and López suffer.
They continue to believe things will change one day. They are strong active members of society, dedicated to helping themselves and others follow their dreams.
This article was inspired by LATINA // The Challenges Transgender Immigrants Seeking Asylum in The U.S. Face