‘Grave concerns’ for trans woman wrongly deported by Trump administration

The Trump administration has admitted “inadvertently” deporting a transgender woman back to her home country, despite of a court order that ruled she should not be removed there because of a risk of her being tortured.

In a court filing last week, officials acknowledged that Britania Uriostegui Rios was deported to Mexico, in violation of a court order granted on 14 March.

The US government is now working to return Rios to the US, where she will be taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents until they decide on a different country to which she can sent. Her legal team are suing the administration to force them to release her from custody when she returns to the US.

Rios, who has a lengthy criminal record, is a legal resident of the US after entering the country in 2003. In 2011, her immigration status was changed to long-term permanent resident.

An immigration judge ordered her deportation in March after she was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in Las Vegas. However, the court ruled that she could not be sent to Mexico.

According to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project and Transgender Law Center and Cornell University Law School LGBT Clinic, Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world for transgender people, with trans women in particular facing discrimination and violence, including rape, torture and murder.

Last week, without her lawyer being notified, Rios was flown from Winn Correctional Center, in Winnfield, Louisiana, to Harlingen, Texas, close to the border between the US and Mexico, without money, her mental-health and HIV-prevention medication, gender-affirming hormones and her phone.

“Since Britania’s arrival in Mexico, she has managed to make only a few phone calls to her counsel in the United States, as she tries to piece together how to safely return and not die in the process,” the court documents showed.

‘Grave concerns for her life and safety’

“Britania’s immigration counsel has ‘grave concerns for [her] life and safety, as she navigates her way back to the United States.”

In an email sent to one of Rios’ immigration lawyers, Bridget Pranzatelli, which was submitted as evidence in court, Shannon Smitherman, an assistant United States attorney at the Department of Justice, said: “ICE confirmed that your client was removed to Mexico inadvertently.”

In a separate email, Smitherman confirmed that “ICE stands ready to remedy the inadvertent removal by allowing your client to voluntarily re-enter the United States if your client wishes to do so”, if she can make it to the border.

While in Mexico, Rios has been living with family members.

Detailing this in a court filing, lawyer Talia Lepson wrote: “She reported that she had managed to travel to her aunt’s house and was living in hiding. Britania’s family is not accepting of her identity as a trans woman so… she has been forced to use her deadname (the male name designated to her at birth) and hide her identity. This has caused her significant mental anguish.

“I am also forced to use Britania’s deadname and conceal her status as a trans woman when communicating through her aunt, which has been demoralising for me as her advocate and legal representative.

“Britania expressed that she does not feel safe in her family’s home and fears they will discover her trans identity and harm her or kick her out of their house.”

Pranzatelli told CNN: “[Britania] is a trans woman who has been through extreme trauma, including being sexually trafficked by cartels [when] as young as 12 years old. As a result of these experiences, she has significant mental-health issues.

“There are many in Mexico who want to hurt her, which is why an immigration judge found it more likely than not that she would be tortured or killed if forced to return.”

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.