US Court Cases of Three Mexican Women Could Change the Fate of Transgender Immigrants Victoria Bekiempis - Newsweek
go to original March 15, 2015

Three Mexican immigrants, transgender women who are seeking asylum in the U.S., had lived with violence before leaving their country: repeated rapes at the hands of family members, police officers and military agents - and, in one case, being burned alive and left for dead.

But what these women fear far more is the violence they will likely face if the U.S. deports them, they claim in court documents. Would they die at the hands of the men who had threatened to murder them? Would these men force them to eat sand to the point of death - a fate said to have befallen other transgender women back home?  

On March 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California, heard oral arguments in the cases of Daniella Godoy-Ramirez, Edin Avendano-Hernandez and Lucia Mondragon-Alday. They are fighting to stay in the U.S., claiming in court documents they could face torture or death in Mexico because of their gender identity.

Several years ago, these women individually applied for protection from deportation, citing a fear of persecution and torture. The immigration judge denied their applications, in essence ruling there wasn’t enough proof they would be persecuted, their appeal briefs, filed in the Ninth Circuit, claim.

...If the Ninth Circuit rules in favor of the women, the decision wouldn’t just rebuke the immigration judge and BIA’s reasoning in these specific cases, it could also set precedent for transgender immigrants seeking safety in the U.S., advocates say. It is unclear when the court will hand down its rulings.

Read the rest at Newsweek

Photo: TransEquality.org

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!