Transgender woman who suffered sexual assault in US immigration centre should be released, advocates say

The groups are saying Alejandra Alor Reyes should be released on humanitarian grounds

Advocates are calling for the release of a transgender woman who allegedly experienced sexual assault and harassment while detained at a male immigration facility in Arizona.

According to NBC, Alejandra Alor Reyes, who is from Mexico, is awaiting an appeal of her asylum case.

Ms Reyes said she fled after suffering abuse and discrimination due to being transgender and that she has remained in custody since seeking asylum in June.

A number of humanitarian groups including, ACLU of Arizona, Trans Queer Pueblo and Detention Watch Network are calling for her release according to the report.

The advocacy groups are saying that Ms Reyes is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and should be released on humanitarian grounds.

“ICE continues to fail to address her needs and further harms her by keeping her in custody,“ Yvette Borja, an attorney with the ACLU of Arizona told NBC.

Ms Reyes is said to have served two terms in solitary confinement for an amount of time which the advocacy groups allege violated ICE’s own policies.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement told a reporter they have offered Ms Reyes a transfer to housing for transgender detainees in August, but that she declined the provision.

“ICE is committed to upholding an immigration detention system that prioritises the health, safety, and welfare of all of those in its care and custody, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex individuals,“ spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe told NBC.

Advocates said that Ms Reyes case is indicative of the unsafe conditions that transgender immigrants face while in detention.

In 2018 asylum-seeker Roxana Hernandez died while in custody at a New Mexico transgender ICE housing facility.

An autopsy by the New Mexico medical examiner revealed that Ms Hernandez died due to a rare disorder that developed quickly due to AIDS, NBC reported.

Advocates told NBC that they believe transgender inmates face a lack of sufficient medical care and that staff are not trained to deal with their needs.

Reyes, who has known she was transgender since childhood, said she has spent her life fleeing abuse, according to Cyrina King, an immigrant advocate.

The groups have conveyed to NBC that they fear Ms Reyes safety and well-being is in jeopardy while she remains in detention.

“We are concerned about her mental health because she has been diagnosed with PTSD. It will lead to mental health deterioration if she is not released,“ Ms Borja said.

NBC said Reyes and her advocates have publicly released her claims in the hope it will bring attention to her case.​