Behind Bars and Beyond Binaries: Examining the Ongoing Oppression and Abuse of Transgender Detainees in ICE Custody
Faculty Mentor
Judy Rohrer
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
10-5-2023 10:45 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 11:05 AM
Location
PUB 321
Department
Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies
Abstract
In 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) first recognized transgender detainees as a vulnerable population (Santos, 2017). While on paper, this identification seems like progress, studies have revealed the ongoing systematic oppression and abuse experienced by transgender persons in detention centers because ICE standards of care are often violated and fail to account for the unique, intersectional identities and care needs of transgender detainees. Violations of these standards reinforce cisnormativity, a system of power that supports binary gender classifications, and ultimately affect trans peoples’ experiences and treatment in detention centers that maintain similar sex and gender binaries resulting in sexual abuse, inaccurate detention placement, solitary confinement, an absence of basic needs, and psychological trauma. This paper argues that ICE fails transgender detainees because their detention standards do not adequately account for the unique needs of transgender persons and existing standards vaguely addressing transgender vulnerabilities are not being enforced. I support this argument by examining the shortcomings of the 2019 ICE National Detention Standards in addressing transgender vulnerabilities, the prevalence of violations resulting in experiences of abuse, and the role of institutionalized cisnormativity in perpetuating these issues. Finally, I assess the impacts of this abuse on the well-being of trans persons, and evaluate reforms suggested from advocacy organizations.
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Erika, "Behind Bars and Beyond Binaries: Examining the Ongoing Oppression and Abuse of Transgender Detainees in ICE Custody" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 4.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/os3_2023/4
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Behind Bars and Beyond Binaries: Examining the Ongoing Oppression and Abuse of Transgender Detainees in ICE Custody
PUB 321
In 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) first recognized transgender detainees as a vulnerable population (Santos, 2017). While on paper, this identification seems like progress, studies have revealed the ongoing systematic oppression and abuse experienced by transgender persons in detention centers because ICE standards of care are often violated and fail to account for the unique, intersectional identities and care needs of transgender detainees. Violations of these standards reinforce cisnormativity, a system of power that supports binary gender classifications, and ultimately affect trans peoples’ experiences and treatment in detention centers that maintain similar sex and gender binaries resulting in sexual abuse, inaccurate detention placement, solitary confinement, an absence of basic needs, and psychological trauma. This paper argues that ICE fails transgender detainees because their detention standards do not adequately account for the unique needs of transgender persons and existing standards vaguely addressing transgender vulnerabilities are not being enforced. I support this argument by examining the shortcomings of the 2019 ICE National Detention Standards in addressing transgender vulnerabilities, the prevalence of violations resulting in experiences of abuse, and the role of institutionalized cisnormativity in perpetuating these issues. Finally, I assess the impacts of this abuse on the well-being of trans persons, and evaluate reforms suggested from advocacy organizations.
