FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Friday, April 3, 2020
CONTACT:
Yessica Gonzalez Rodriguez, The TransLatin@ Coalition, (323)379-2032 or yessicag@translatinacoalition.org
Bamby Salcedo, The TransLatin@ Coalition, (818) 983-4194 or bambys@translatinacoalition.org
TRANSGENDER WOMEN PLEAD TO BE RELEASED FROM ICE CUSTODY, AFTER POSITIVE EXPOSURE TO COVID-19
As many people around the globe celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility earlier this week, a group of transgender women recorded a video while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Custody pleading not to be forgotten amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The four women seen in the video are holding signs that read, “WE ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE LIVING CONDITIONS AT AURORA DETENTION. [IT] IS IN BAD CONDITION,” “WE NEED OUR FREEDOM, WE ARE IMMIGRANTS AT AURORA DETENTION,” “HELP US WE NEED OUR FREEDOM.”
Inside of the privately-owned Aurora Detention Center in Aurora, Colorado, Kelly Gonzalez Aguilar is speaking into a makeshift microphone saying, “We are a group of transgender women detained by ICE. This is a call for our government officials to understand that we are being exposed to diseases during this coronavirus pandemic. It is a call to them to know that we are human beings and we are concerned about this time bomb that is attacking humanity. We have no way of protecting ourselves! We are in bad condition! And we must be heard!”
Kelly Gonzalez Aguilar is a transgender asylum seeker who has been in ICE custody for more than two years despite her eligibility for release on parole. Because of her gender identity, Kelly has experienced relentless violence and abuse since she was a child in Honduras. Her experience in ICE custody is a continuation of the abuse she attempted to escape from when she sought refuge in the United States. In the 900 days she has been detained, Kelly has been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, three different transfers, and her physical and mental wellbeing get significantly impacted as she has been diagnosed pre-diabetic due to detention condition. For Kelly and other transgender immigrants in custody, every additional day in ICE custody brings with it the risk of added harm and abuses.
Since the possible exposure to COVID-19 on March 17, there are a number of confirmed cases of coronavirus and approximately 40 people who are quarantined due to possible exposure. “We need to make sure that our trans sisters who are caged in immigration detention and are the most vulnerable who do not have the ability to protect themselves are released,” says Bamby Salcedo President and CEO of The TransLatin@ Coalition.
This plea from transgender women inside detention is a long overdue demand to #FreeThemAll and #EndTransDetention. We must not wait until the government has another death on their hands to take action. Transgender people are suffering and deserve a fighting chance to survive outside of confinement and lock-up.
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Find the link to the video HERE
Link to the Petition for Kelly that has over 6,000 signatures
This video joins a national call to #FreeThemAll where other immigrants inside of ICE Custody are also pleading for their immediate release.
Original video transcription:
Somos un grupo de mujeres transgenero detenidas por ICE y este es un llamado para nuestros funcionarios del gobierno que tomen conciencia De que estamos expuestas a enfermedades a esta pandemia nueva que se presenta que es el corona virus Y es un llamado para que sepan que nosotras también somos seres humanos y que estamos preocupadas por esta bomba de tiempo que nos está atacando a la humanidad. Y no tenemos manera de cómo prevenirnos estamos en malas condiciones y debemos ser escuchadas.