National
EXCLUSIVE: Advocates allege gay ICE detainee not receiving PTSD treatment
Luís Armando Mendoza Sanchez of Perú remains detained in Louisiana
Luís Armando Mendoza Sanchez has been in ICE custody since February. Clement Lee of Immigration Equality acknowledged that PTSD is not uncommon among LGBT immigrants. (Washington Blade file photo)
Advocates and family members of a gay undocumented Peruvian immigrant who remains in a Louisiana detention center maintain he has not received proper treatment for the post-traumatic stress disorder that stems from the anti-gay discrimination and violence they say he suffered in his homeland.
U.S. Border Control agents took Luís Armando Mendoza Sanchez into custody near Penitas, Texas, on Feb. 25 shortly after he entered the country. Vinnie Picard, spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the Blade that Mendoza, 22, told arresting officers that he was from Perú and that he was not afraid to return to the South American country. He noted that Mendoza informed agents who detained him near Douglas, Ariz., on Jan. 22 that he was from Mexico.
Picard said that Mendoza told an ICE officer a few days after agents took him into custody in Texas that he actually was afraid to return to Perú because of his sexual orientation. He was transferred to the New Orleans Field Office while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services evaluated his asylum claim.
Mendoza’s aunt Maribel, who lives in D.C., reached out to transgender activist Ruby Corado in July after she saw her on a local Spanish language television station. She told her that Mendoza was afraid that his fellow inmates at the Oakdale Federal Detention Center in central Louisiana were going to rape him.
Maribel, who declined to give her last name, told the Blade that her nephew left the Peruvian capital, Lima, six months ago to escape what she described as anti-gay persecution and violence from local police, neighbors and others. Mendoza’s parents passed away from AIDS when he was a teenager, and Maribel said that he sought what she described as a better life in the United States.
Corado relayed Maribel’s concerns to ICE officials.
“I have some serious concerns on the severe mental health consequences that result from the long terms of incarceration that many LGBT people experience while in custody of ICE,” she wrote in a July 27 e-mail to Melissa Jaramillo of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations that the Blade obtained. “Many of these detainees are people who have suffered severe trauma and incarceration in their home countries and have or are dealing with issues of sexual abuse and rape or the post-traumatic stresses after they were victims or a violent crime.”
Corado sent a second e-mail to Jaramillo on Aug. 8.
“Talking to Luís [Mendoza] tonight, it seems to me that my plea for help for LGBT victims like Luís is not going anywhere, no mental health or therapy is being offered to him,” she wrote. “Nobody has even attempted to reach out to him to help him address his mental anguish.”
Picard confirmed to the Blade that Corado had contacted ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that oversees the agency about concerns she and Maribel had over his safety.
“ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers immediately interviewed Mr. Mendoza about his perceived safety concerns,” he said. “Mister Mendoza’s only stated concern to ERO officers was how his claim of persecution based on his sexual orientation relates to his asylum case. Mister Mendoza did not affirmatively advise ERO or detention center staff of any safety concerns.”
Clement Lee of Immigration Equality acknowledged to the Blade that PTSD is not uncommon among LGBT immigrants. He further noted that a detainee’s access to medical care depends upon the type of facility in which they are held — some are run directly by ICE, while others are contract facilities and even local jails.
“Some of them get better care, some don’t,” said Lee. “I’ve had clients that have been able to get prescription medications to treat depression, to treat hallucinations. I’ve had other people who have sort of just languish and meet with a psychologist just one and say that’s too much — you’ve been raped 17 times, this is more than I can handle. The stress of being in detention sort of adds to that PTSD.”
Picard said Mendoza received a mental health screening from ICE Health Services Corps after he was transferred to the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, La., late last month. Agency protocol indicates that each detainee who enters an ICE detention facility undergoes a screening that includes a medical, dental and mental health evaluation within 12 hours of their arrival.
“The initial report from IHSC is that Mr. Mendoza had a standard medical and mental wellness check,” said Picard. “Mr. Mendoza reported that, in general, he is fine.”
National
Results from key Tuesday primary races
State officials in California had not called the governor’s race as of Wednesday morning but Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra appear likely to advance to the general election.
The race for governor has been scrambled several times after Kamala Harris opted not to run, Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, and Rep. Katie Porter’s campaign fizzled. Becerra would be the state’s first Latino governor since 1875 if elected. Hilton was endorsed by President Trump.
In the Los Angeles mayor’s race, the AP declared that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the Nov. 3 runoff while former reality TV star Spencer Pratt and LA Council member Nithya Raman were competing for second place. California is notoriously slow in counting ballots and only about half of the results were available by Wednesday morning.
In San Francisco, Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener advanced to the general election in November, besting Supervisor Connie Chan, who was endorsed by House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi is retiring from Congress after nearly 40 years in the House.
In Iowa, Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek won the primary for an open U.S. Senate seat, defeating state Sen. Zach Wahls. Turek will face Rep. Ashley Hinson, who won the GOP primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, in the general election.
The Iowa seat is open because Sen. Joni Ernst (R) decided not to seek re-election. The primary was closely watched by LGBTQ advocates because Wahls rose to national prominence after a speech he made defending marriage equality went viral in 2011. Wahls was raised by a lesbian couple.
National
White House Correspondents’ Dinner rescheduled after shooting
‘We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word’
The White House Correspondents’ Association announced on Tuesday that it has rescheduled its annual dinner for July 24 after the April event was halted when gunshots rang out at the Washington Hilton.
Cole Allen, 31, is charged with the attempted assassination of President Trump, who was in the ballroom at the time of the incident. One Secret Service officer was wounded in the attack. Officers stopped Allen before he could enter the ballroom where 2,500 journalists and politicos were having dinner and waiting for Trump to speak. It was Trump’s first time attending as president.
“We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” said WHCA President Weijia Jiang in a statement to members.
She did not announce further details, including venue and ticketing.
Washington Blade White House reporter Joe Reberkenny was in the audience when shots were fired and reported live on social media from the scene.
This post will be updated as more details are announced.
Federal Government
Advocates push back on proposed FCC warning labels
New rating system public notice seeking comments issued on April 22
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a new rating system that would require a warning label to appear before any television content that includes LGBTQ characters.
On April 22, the FCC issued a public notice asking Americans to submit comments on whether the TV Oversight Management Board should create new TV ratings to alert viewers to “transgender and gender nonbinary programming” and “the discussion or promotion of gender identity themes.”
This proposed warning would appear before content, similar to warnings that explain a program contains sexual content, drug use, or violence — categories that Congress explicitly included in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on the grounds of obscenity and violence that some parents “believe is harmful to their children.”
The public notice says that “recently, parents have raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents.”
It goes on to say that not having a warning for trans and nonbinary people is “undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families.”
LGBT Tech is an organization that works to provide LGBTQ representation in mainstream media or entertainment. The group notes 81 percent of trans respondents it surveyed said these representations had a positive impact on them discovering or learning about their identity.
“These numbers reflect a basic truth: for many people, and especially young people, seeing LGBTQ+ lives represented in ordinary media is not harmful. It is formative, affirming, and often lifesaving.”
Since the public notice’s publication, more than 40 organizations have come out against the proposed alert.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement in May on the proposal, highlighting what she described as a concerted effort by the Trump-Vance administration to other trans and nonbinary people.
“The FCC does not set TV ratings, but under this administration the FCC has repeatedly tried to control what Americans can see on their own televisions. This government overreach is dangerous and a threat to our community and our democracy,” Ellis said.
“LGBTQ+ people and their families deserve to see their lives represented in the media they watch. And media companies must have the freedom to create programming that appeals to their viewers and subscribers without interference from a government pursuing its own anti-LGBTQ+ political agenda.”
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson pointed out that this is an act of politically motivated policy, not one based on any rhyme or reason.
“LGBTQ+ stories matter and deserve to be told, seen, and heard,” Robinson said. “The Trump administration does not get to use the FCC to try and erase us simply because they want to pretend to live in a world where we don’t exist. This is a brazen form of political interference that will hurt the ability of all people to appreciate, understand, and learn about the world and people around them.”
Brian Dittmeier, director of LGBTQI+ equality at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, echoed Robinson’s concerns that this is attempted censorship for the sake of political gain.
“The FCC is cloaking itself in purported concern for parents in an attempt to censor content, intimidate industry, and silence depictions of our trans siblings and neighbors,” Dittmeier wrote. “The FCC is overstepping its authority to undermine the existing ratings system, which is well understood by parents and enjoys broad public support. The FCC’s presumption that it knows better does not reflect parents’ priorities and reeks of government overreach.”
PFLAG National Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs Diego Sanchez said this is federal government overreach into censorship — something the First Amendment protects against.
“The FCC has given us yet another example of what ‘small government’ means: small enough to fit in your living room; to interrupt family movie night; small enough to make home feel unsafe,” Sanchez said. “Parents and families with transgender loved ones in particular know too well how big government actions impact their families directly, because they feel those impacts before everyone else.”
This proposed warning follows a slew of other federal actions targeting trans people in America, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandated that only sex assigned at birth be used on federal government documents regardless of gender identity, as well as broad-based restrictions on gender-affirming care, particularly for trans minors.
Results from key Tuesday primary races
AIDS Healthcare Foundation announces 3 million people globally in its care
10 HIV/AIDS activists arrested on Capitol Hill
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
