The appalling treatment of a transgender asylum seeker held in US detention has drawn a lawsuit from the ACLU.
The suit is against the federal government, local government and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and charges that they failed to protect Tanya Guzman-Martinez from sexual violence, assault and other mistreatment.
Guzman-Martinez was being held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. She was sexually assaulted by a guard who threatened to deport her back to Mexico if she did not comply with his demands. Pinal County court records show that the guard was charged with 'attempted unlawful sexual contact' but was only sentenced to two days, with time served.
After the sexual assault, she was placed back in a male population rather than in a woman's cell and suffered further abuse including another sexual assault.
The accusations, according to the ACLU court papers, include that "on one occasion, a detention officer told other detainees that they could “have her” if they gave him three soup packets."
Alessandra Soler Meetze of the ACLU of Arizona said:
“They did nothing. They failed to protect her from abusive staff members. They failed to protect her from male detainees."
ACLU of Arizona Immigrant Rights Attorney, Victoria Lopez, said:
“Tanya
left Mexico to seek refuge from the persecution she suffered because of
her gender identity, and was exposed to even greater trauma at the
hands of immigration officials who failed to take appropriate measures
to protect her while she was in their custody.”
A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Arizona,Amber Cargile, told Fronteras Desk:
"While
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not comment on
pending litigation, the agency is firmly committed to providing for the
welfare and humane treatment of all those in its custody. ICE is
currently in the process of implementing comprehensive reforms to the
agency’s detention system. The reforms are designed to prioritize the
health and safety of detainees in ICE’s custody, while increasing
federal oversight and improving the conditions of confinement within the
detention system. ICE is focused on sensible, sustainable reforms that
are attentive to the unique needs of the individuals in our custody.”
Although Guzman-Martinez was released from detention more than a year-and-a-half ago, she still suffers from the emotional pain she endured while at Eloy.
The US has come in for consistent criticism over persistent sexual abuse in immigration detention centers and its refusal to extend the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to those in immigration detention. The ACLU has gathered more than 185 reports of sexual abuse in immigrant detention facilities across America, which they say represents a small proportion of cases.
ACLU of Arizona cooperating attorney Kirstin Story, of the law firm of Lewis and Roca LLP, said:
“When we
tout our country as a beacon of freedom, fairness, and individual
liberties for all, the United States, as well as state and local
governments, and the people and entities with whom they routinely
contract, must live up to those values, especially for those people who
seek refuge in this country because of those values. Unfortunately,
that did not occur in the Tanya Guzman-Martinez case and in many
others. We hope that this lawsuit is a step toward remedying these
failures.”
The ACLU-AZ report "In Their Own Words: Enduring Abuse in Arizona Immigration Detention Centers," details further maltreatment of other LGBT detainees.
ACLU Guzman - Complaint
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Appalling is the word, all right.
ReplyDeleteI cannot put up with abominable situation in Uinted States, both for detention of asylum seekers and inhuman treatment of treansexual, not in comformity with international norm and statement on sexual orientation and gender identity.
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with a transsexual from Malaysia... she wants to marry me (in Amsterdam or London)... can we adopt and be a family?
ReplyDelete