Recently freed Honduran transgender woman detained again by Ice

Nicole Garcia Aguilar fled Honduras after being subjected to sexual assault and attempted murder linked to her gender identity

Nina Lakhani
Fri 26 Apr 2019 09.00 BST Last modified on Fri 26 Apr 2019 09.02 BST

A Honduran transgender asylum seeker who was released last week after a year incarcerated in immigration centres has been re-detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).

The move was condemned by her legal team as punitive and damaging to the young woman’s physical and mental health.

Nicole Garcia Aguilar, 24, fled southern Honduras after being subjected to death threats, sexual assault and attempted murder linked to her gender identity. She sought help from the police in Honduras, but was told by one officer that the violence against her was “because of the way [she is]” and would not stop until she was dead.

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Before being released, Garcia was transferred to an Ice custody in El Paso, Texas, where she had a pending criminal charge. The charge was dismissed and Garcia finally released from Ice detention on 17 April but given no release paperwork – a document that is essential in order to travel freely and avoid detention at immigration checkpoints.

On 24 April, Garcia, accompanied by advocates from the Detained Migrants Solidarity Committee, went to the Ice office in El Paso to obtain her release paperwork where she was taken into custody.

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