LGBTQ advocates are taking legal action on behalf of a transgender asylum seeker whose death in ICE custody rocked the nation earlier this year.
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) and other groups have filed a wrongful death claim on behalf of Roxsana Hernandez’s next of kin, the group announced Monday.
The 33-year-old Honduran asylum-seeker died May 25 after just 12 days in ICE custody, sparking a massive protest by LGBTQ and immigration rights activists.
According to ICE, Hernández entered ICE custody May 13 in San Diego and was ultimately transferred to the transgender “pod” at Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico. Four days later, she was hospitalized with symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration and HIV complications. She died of cardiac arrest, according to ICE.
An independent autopsy found that Hernandez likely suffered physical abuse and severe dehydration, according to The Daily Beast. Forensic pathologist Kris Sperry reported that Hernandez had signs of blunt force trauma, with extensive hemorrhaging on her hands and wrists, likely from handcuffs and bruising on her hands and abdomen.
Hernandez’s journey parallels that of LGBTQ asylum-seekers currently trying to cross into the U.S. via Tijuana, Mexico at the San Ysidro port of entry. Hernandez also traveled with a caravan earlier this year before detainment.
Hernandez’s death reportedly sent shockwaves throughout the transgender pod at Cibola and prompted LGBTQ and human rights activists to demand the release of LGBTQ ICE detainees. Read more via INTO