Undocumented and Transgender
June 1, 2017
A creative support system—including housing, legal aid, and training for detention centers—emerges to address the unique challenges of LGBTQ immigrants.
Undocumented and transgender, Karolina Lopez was held at an immigrant detention center near Tucson, Arizona, for three years while awaiting asylum. Originally from Acapulco, home to the highest murder rate in Mexico, Lopez came to the United States to escape discrimination from her family and community. She landed in a detention center after reporting a robbery to the police, who arrested her when they discovered her illegal status.
During her years in detention, Lopez suffered abuse from both fellow detainees and guards. “It was constant—verbal, physical, psychological,” she remembers. But she emerged ready to help those in similar situations. “I am resilient,” she says proudly. “I know that I have a voice and that I can have influence if I raise that voice and speak out.”
