Rep. Al Green, Texas Democrat, called on the Trump administration Thursday to restore hormone therapy and other specialized medical care for transgender immigrants held in federal immigration detention.
Mr. Green, who represents Houston’s 9th Congressional District, held a press conference alongside the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus and the Montrose Center to address what the groups called the mistreatment of transgender detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
During the event, Mr. Green read from a letter he sent to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “I write to express my deep concern over reports of hazardous conditions for transgender immigrants,” Mr. Green said, reading from the letter.
In the letter, Mr. Green attributed the conditions to what he called deliberate agency policy, saying the federal government had halted specialized medical care for transgender detainees at no fewer than 10 detention centers nationwide — a figure that matches an August investigation by The New York Times, cited below, which found ICE had removed transgender-specific care requirements at a similar number of facilities. He also said the administration had ended a Biden-era policy that reserved certain detention units for transgender women, resulting in transgender women being housed with men or placed in solitary confinement.
Daron Perez, TransWellness program coordinator at the Montrose Center, said detainees should not have to question whether they will receive care. “Will I receive my hormones? Will my identity be respected? Will I be safe?” Mr. Perez said.
Mr. Green compared withholding medical treatment from transgender detainees to providing care to convicted criminals or enemy combatants, arguing that anyone in government custody is entitled to medical attention regardless of identity.
The Department of Homeland Security has pushed back on such findings. In an email to The New York Times for an Aug. 20 report on transgender detainees, the agency said, “We are NOT wasting U.S. taxpayer dollars to provide hormone therapy,” and separately said no detainees were being abused or beaten.
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