HuffingtonPost.com – Amnesty International – Joanna B. Hurlburt contributed to this post.
Esmeralda, a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico who came to the United States seeking protection and liberty found herself in immigration detention, in conditions as terrifying as those she was attempting to flee. Upon arrival at the US border, Esmeralda applied for asylum on the basis of persecution because of her identity as a transgendered person. Like all asylum seekers seeking protection at US borders, Esmeralda was put into immigration detention.