Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is accused of mistreating transgender and non-binary detainees at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility.
Five transgender and non-binary individuals in ICE custody have filed a civil rights complaint against the agency, alleging discrimination, intimidation, and mistreatment. They cite inadequate access to gender-affirming care, dehumanizing job assignments, lack of mental health treatment, and other issues as reasons for their complaint.
These individuals are held at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, which has a “transgender pod” dedicated to transgender and non-binary detainees. The complaint, filed on their behalf by the National Immigration Project, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, and American Immigration Council, highlights specific problems faced by the detainees and broader systemic issues affecting transgender and non-binary individuals in custody.
The complaint also references the relocation of hundreds of transgender detainees from the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico earlier this year due to concerns about the quality of healthcare. Roxsana Hernandez, a transgender asylum seeker, died at the Cibola jail in 2018, raising questions about the treatment of transgender individuals in ICE custody.
The individuals at the Aurora facility describe various issues, including delays in receiving gender-affirming care, inadequate medical treatment, and concerns about living conditions. Some have experienced solitary confinement or “protective custody” due to their gender identity, which they argue does not make them safer and can lead to abuse.
The complaint calls on ICE to stop detaining transgender and non-binary individuals in civil immigration custody, improve transparency and accountability, and implement policies to ensure compliance with laws protecting transgender rights. It also urges ICE to provide training on accommodating individuals with disabilities and update its transgender care policies.
ICE maintains that it is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all individuals in its custody and evaluates the need for detention on a case-by-case basis. However, the complaint argues that the experiences described demonstrate that ICE is unable to safely and compassionately detain transgender and non-binary individuals.
Ultimately, the complaint calls for an end to ICE’s practice of detaining transgender and non-binary individuals and urges the Department of Homeland Security to implement new policies to protect their rights and ensure their well-being while in custody.
