‘No Pride In Detention’ Will Echo the Streets in front of the White House this Pride Month
Washington, DC– Today, Wednesday, June 23, trans and queer leaders from across the country with the #EndTransDetention Campaign are in Washington D.C. to tell President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas to end the detention of trans people by ICE and to release people living with HIV immediately.
What: Funeral service to honor trans women who’ve died, procession from church to the White House to demand an end to trans detentions
When: Today, Wednesday, June 23rd at 12pm ET
Where: National City Christian Church 5 Thomas Cir NW, Washington, DC 20005 to White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
Who: 25+ previously detained trans and queer people, Latinx & Black led organizations Familia:TQLM, BLMP, Mijente, and Transgender Law Center, Allies
“President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas could easily end the detention of trans people and people living with HIV if they wanted to— it’s unacceptable that they haven’t. We are here because our trans community is suffering in detention for seeking a better, safer life. We can’t celebrate Pride when our people are in detention–there’s no pride in detention. We demand President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas immediately release our people this Pride month.” Victoria Castro, Trans Leader with El/La Para TransLatinas in California and a member of Familia:TQLM, formerly detained by ICE.
“Biden says he cares about LGBTQIA people in other countries but we ask ourselves why he doesn’t take action at home. As a trans Afro-Mexican migrant and advocate for prison abolition, we demand that President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas immediately end their practice of detaining trans people and people living with HIV. Detention is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment for migrating. Migration is a human right and we should be treated with dignity.” – Karolina Lopez, Trans Leader with Mariposas Sin Fronteras in Arizona and a member of Familia:TQLM, Formerly Detained by ICE.
This Pride Month, after 10 actions in major cities across the country by trans immigrant women, including in San Francisco, Phoenix, Atlanta, New York City, Familia:Trans Queer Liberation Movement (website), Mijente (website), Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (website), Transgender Law Center, and grassroots partner organizations will convene in Washington, D.C. to remind President Biden to fulfill his promise of protecting LGBTQ+ people by bringing attention to the neglect and abuse inside ICE custody in the U.S.
Background information:
President Biden campaigned on protecting LGBTQ+ people and on February 4, 2021, he issued a memo promising to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people worldwide. He hasn’t fulfilled his own promise given his Administration’s current practice of detaining trans people.
On March 31st on Trans Day of Visibility, President Biden tweeted “Transgender rights are human rights – and I’m calling on every American to join me in uplifting the worth and dignity of transgender Americans. Together, we can stamp out discrimination and deliver on our nation’s promise of freedom and equality for all.”
The #EndTransDetention campaign launched over five years ago, with renewed efforts to get the Biden Administration to adopt a policy that releases all trans people from detention, people living with HIV, and with medical conditions.
A group of 36+ formerly detained trans people, including people from Mariposas sin Fronteras, sent a letter to the White House on March 2, 2021, asking the Biden Administration to stop detaining trans people.
In April 2021, the #EndTransDetention campaign was successful in releasing Eva Rosas, a 42-year-old transgender woman from Veracruz, Mexico, after being in a detention center for two years in Georgia. She is currently fighting her asylum case.