05 Nov 2019, 12:46pm

Alejandra was repeatedly sexually assaulted In El Salvador by gangs and the military, just for being a trans rights activist.

After fleeing, she was held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) correctional centre for almost two years.

Thanks to your support and continuous international advocacy efforts, a court ordered the USA government to halt her deportation, and she was finally released on parole in September 2019 after her lawyers successfully argued that her prolonged detention violated the USA Constitution.

Alejandra will remain free awaiting the final decision on her asylum claim, which we will be monitoring closely.

What happened?

Alejandra has fought for trans rights for more than a decade in El Salvador.

She was forced to flee to the U.S. after repeated attacks, sexual assaults and extortion by both criminal gangs and by the Salvadoran military.

As an older trans woman, and as a fighter for LGBT rights, […] I am a fighter all the way until the last day that I am on this earth.

Alejandra

But instead of offering her safety and a chance to rebuild her life, the U.S. government locked her up in a private prison with dreadful health care – which she desperately needs.

We make requests for medical examinations, and they don’t respond or give us an examination for 15 days.

Alejandra

All requests denied

Alejandra was stuck at the Cibola detention centre in New Mexico. Her requests for parole, asylum, and for a stay on her deportation were all denied for almost two years.

People have the right to seek safety from persecution. There was no reason why Alejandra should have been locked up for seeking protection.

Alejandra’s story is not an isolated case, there are many more trans people seeking asylum in the United States stuck waiting for months in detention centres where they are at risk of ill-treatment because of their gender identity and medical needs.

It is cruel and unnecessary for U.S. immigration authorities to detain people fleeing to the U.S. in search of safety from persecution and violence, including brave women like Alejandra.