• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: Free Trans Woman from Indefinite Detention (USA: UA 67.21)

June 8, 2021

Maura, a transgender woman, has spent half her life living in the United States of America. Years ago, she sought safety in the US after experiencing relentless transphobic violence in Mexico after she left Nicaragua at a young age. Authorities in the USA have been holding her for over two years at an immigration detention facility in California, where she has experienced abuse and a lack of adequate medical care. We demand authorities free Maura immediately.

TAKE ACTION:
  1. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  2. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 67.21. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help
CONTACT INFORMATION
Gregory J. Archambeault San Diego Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ERO Field Office Director ICE Field Office, 880 Front Street #2242 San Diego, CA 92101 Email: [email protected]
 
SAMPLE LETTER Dear Field Office Director Archambeault, I write to urge you to immediately release Maura, a 41-year-old transgender woman from Nicaragua. She has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in California since April 2019, where she has suffered abuse and lacks adequate medical care. ICE has the legal and discretionary authority to release her. Maura is now seeking protection because she fears for her life if returned to Nicaragua as a transgender woman. Nicaragua is not safe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals, particularly trans women. Maura’s continued detainment is harmful, unnecessary, and undermines President Joseph Biden’s stated commitment to upholding racial justice and human rights. I urge you to release Maura while she pursues her right to seek protection in the United States of America. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES