LGBT Detainees Describe Poor Conditions at Eloy

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.