Immigration Advocates Demand Release of Abused Trans Asylum Seeker
Nicoll Hernández-Polanco says she’s faced transphobia and verbal, physical, and sexual abuse from immigration staff and other detainees in her all-male facility, despite posing no ‘security threat.’
By Mitch Kellaway
The Transgender Law Center Tuesday called for the release of Nicoll Hernández-Polanco, a Guatemalan trans woman currently being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at an all-male detention facility in Florence, Ariz.
In a “Free Nicoll” petition written with other LGBT and immigrant rights organizations, the Law Center explains that Hernández-Polanco came to the U.S. in October seeking asylum because of constant violent attacks, harassment, sexual abuse, and discrimination in her home country and in Mexico.
