ACLU decries danger for detained gay migrants in Pinal County

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http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2011/06/24/aclu-decries-danger-for-detained-gay-migrants-in-pinal-county/

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In Arizona alone, the ACLU found five cases of transgender or gay detainees who were sexually assaulted or abused over a two-year period, according to a study released Thursday. Catalan was not among them.

The 36-page report, “In Their Own Words: Enduring Abuse in Arizona Immigration Detention Centers,” is based on 115 interviews with detainees in facilities in Eloy and Florence from March 2009 through March 2011. ACLU attorney Victoria Lopez also reviewed hundreds of reports and records, including 500 grievances, some of which were filed by gay and transgender detainees like Catalan who were abused while in detention.

“While (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) does not systemically track the number of sexual assaults in detention facilities across the country, these and other reported cases very likely represent only a fraction of the actual cases of sexual abuse of immigrants in detention,” Lopez wrote.

In April of this year, the Heartland Alliance National Immigration Justice Center, an advocacy group in Chicago, filed a civil-rights complaint with the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 13 more immigrants.