While there has been substantial news media coverage about the poor conditions
faced by immigrant detainees at Eloy Immigration Detention Center, LGBT
detainees have faced unique challenges while housed at Eloy. Various LGBT
organizations have banded together to an attempt to provide legal and
other social services to detainees at Eloy, with varying levels of success.
Eloy’s poor conditions may be related to the fact that Arizona has
some of the most draconian immigration laws in the country on its books.
For example, 2010 state legislation made it a misdemeanor offense if police
stopped an individual on suspicion that he or she had no legal status,
and the individual was not carrying the appropriate paperwork with him
or her. Many Eloy detainees have aired complaints about a lack of access
to adequate medical and mental health care. However, LGBT detainees have
even larger problems than most detainees; for these detainees, detention
at a facility like Eloy can be downright dangerous, especially for transgender
women, who often become the victims of physical and sexual assault. In
fact, LGBT detainees are 15 times more likely to experience sexual assault
than heterosexual detainees. Detainees in this situation simply try to
survive until they can post bond or otherwise leave Eloy and similar detention
facilities. ICE does have a LGBT coordinator and field office liaisons
whose responsibility it is to help protect and advocate on behalf of LGBT
detainees. Likewise, the agency issued its Transgender Care Memo in 2015,
which set policies for handling transgender immigrant detainees. However,
large gaps remain between the policies on paper and the firsthand accounts
of being LGBT detainees in facilities such as Eloy. At
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., we have represented the interests of countless clients who are facing
deportation proceedings, but who wish to remain with their families in
the United States. Fortunately, there are many remedies that may be available
if you are facing deportation charges. We will aggressively investigate
the facts and circumstances surrounding your case, and help you settle
upon the option that is best calculated to allow you and your family to
live where you choose. Contact our experienced deportation defense attorneys
today, and learn how we can help.
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