News
Una tarde con Yariel
Ha permanecido bajo custodia de ICE por casi un año
Nota del editor: Una versión de esa nota de opinión en inglés salió en el sitio web del Blade el 4 de febrero.
FERRIDAY, Luisiana — Un guardia masculino al River Correctional Center, un centro de detención privado en el Condado Concordia en Luisiana, me llevó a la sala de visitantes un poco después de la 1 p.m. el sábado. Me senté en una mesa grande —como las que se pueden encontrar en una cafetería de la escuela— y miré a las murallas con mensajes de empoderamiento que habían sido pintados en la pared. Unos minutos después, miré hacía la puerta con una pequeña ventana y vi a Yariel, que vestía un traje verde de rayas. Otro guardia masculino abrió la puerta y Yariel entró la sala. Nos abrazamos fuertemente unos segundos después. Estaba casi sollozando, pero Yariel me aseguró que estaba bien. Después de un par de minutos, nos sentimos en la mesa —uno frente al otro— y empezó nuestra visita. Usé una de las servilletas que tomé de una gasolinera cercana para limpiar las lágrimas de mis ojos. Después de un par de minutos, puse sus manos en las mías y comenzó a llorar. Le di una de las servilletas de la gasolinera para limpiar sus ojos y traté de consolarlo.
“Esta bien llorar”, lo aseguré.
No había visto a Yariel en persona desde el 27 de enero de 2019. Habíamos pasado el día reportando desde un albergue de migrantes dirigida por una lesbiana en Mexicali, una ciudad mexicana en la frontera con EEUU, y lo dejé al apartamento pequeño en Tijuana en que vivía con su padre. Estábamos casi mareados, en parte, porque habíamos cantado canciones de Lady Gaga como locos durante el viaje de dos horas entre Mexicali y Tijuana. Esos momentos despreocupados parecen de toda la vida.
Yariel el sábado me dio dos regalos: Una pulsera hecha de piezas de bolsas de basura negras y blancas y un zapatillo hecho de paquetes de Maruchan y envoltorios de crema de café que hará un buen ornamento navideño. Hablamos como amigos, como hermanos. Hablamos sobre Cuba y el juicio político del presidente Trump. Lo compré una botella de Sprite de una máquina expendedora en la sala. También compartimos una bolsa de Doritos. Una guardia femenina que habla español estaba en la sala con nosotros. Al principio estuve un poco incómodo de verla escribiendo en un cuaderno, pero después de unos minutos olvidé que estaba allí.
A las 2:50 p.m., nos dijo en español que nuestra visita iba a terminar en 10 minutos. Yariel quería darme dos carpetas con sus escritos sobre su tiempo bajo custodia del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE), pero la guardia lo dijo que no podría tomarlas conmigo. Yariel había colocado la pulsera alrededor de mi muñeca y un supervisor dijo a la guardia que podría llevar el ornamento conmigo. Los puse, junto con su foto del tamaño de un pasaporte, en mi mano. Nos pusimos de pie y nos abrazamos fuertemente. Lo dije que lo quiero y luego salimos por puertas diferentes. Salí por la puerta principal de la instalación menos de cinco minutos después y regresé a mi hotel en Kenner, un suburbio de Nueva Orleans, a las 6:45 p.m.
Ha pasado casi un año desde que Yariel pidió asilo en EEUU y entró la custodia de ICE. Los lectores del Washington Blade saben que un juez el pasado septiembre concedió asilo a Yariel. También saben que su destino está en las manos de la Junta de Apelación de Inmigración en Virginia porque ICE apeló el fallo.
Hay cierta ironía en el hecho que Yariel comenzó escribir para el Blade en el otoño de 2018, en parte, porque necesitábamos un reportero en Tijuana que pudiera reportar sobre los migrantes LGBTQ que llegaban a la ciudad con las caravanas migratorias de Centroamérica. La cobertura del Blade de estos temas continua, con mi más reciente viaje a Honduras y El Salvador que terminó hace seis días antes de mi visita con Yariel. Esta cobertura sigue siendo tan importante como siempre con la política migratoria de línea dura de la administración Trump continúan poniendo en riesgo a los migrantes LGBTQ.
También se convierte en algo profundamente personal.
Mi esposo y yo el viernes, unas horas antes de volar a Luisiana, asistieron una ceremonia en Durham, Carolina del Norte, donde nuestro querido amigo Marcelo se convirtió en ciudadano estadounidense. Marcelo, un bailarín para el Carolina Ballet de origen paraguayo, trabajaba muy duro para llegar a ese momento y estamos muy orgullosos de él.
Uno de los momentos más memorables de la ceremonia fue el video en que Trump felicitó a Marcelo y los otras 56 personas que acababan de convertirse en ciudadanos estadounidenses. Ninguno de ellos aplaudió al final del video. Ellos, junto con el resto de nosotros, saben mierda cuando la escuchan, y todos respondimos en especie.
Estos ciudadanos estadounidenses, junto con Yariel, son exactamente el tipo de personas que harán una contribución positiva a este país y lo hará aún mejor. Merecen nuestro respeto y apoyo, no retorica barata basada en racismo, xenofobía y supremacía blanca para apaciguar una base política antes de una elección presidencial.
Una de las partes más desgarradoras de mi visita con Yariel fue cuando me dijo que más desea es su libertad que lo permitirá empezar una nueva vida en los EEUU sin miedo de persecución. La lucha para hacer realidad el sueño de Yariel sigue. Espero que mi próximo viaje a Luisiana sea recogerlo después de la Junta de Apelaciones de Inmigración confirme su decisión de asilo y ICE finalmente lo libere de su custodia.
Siempre estaré a tu lado, Yariel.
Congress
Top Democrats re-introduce trans bill of rights
Lawmakers spoke outside US Capitol on Wednesday
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) announced the reintroduction of a “Trans Bill of Rights” on Wednesday.
Despite chilling winds and snow on the ground, transgender activists, LGBTQ rights advocates, and trans-supporting lawmakers gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to announce the reintroduction of the “Transgender Bill of Rights” resolution to protect trans Americans, as the Trump-Vance administration continues to target LGBTQ Americans.
About 30 people gathered outside to hear from legislators and individuals impacted by recent White House policies.
“Today we say loud and clear that trans rights are human rights, and they must be protected every single day of every single year,” Markey told the crowd. “We stand together in solidarity with the trans community and with those who have too often been left behind by a system that refuses to recognize their humanity. We are here to ensure that every trans and gender-diverse person in America can live freely and safely and authentically. That’s what the Trans Bill of Rights is all about.”
Markey is leading the resolution on the Senate side, while Jayapal is pushing it forward in the House.
“With the Trans Bill of Rights, we are laying out a comprehensive vision to provide protections for transgender and nonbinary people — a vision that ensures every single person has a chance to thrive,” Jayapal said. “A vision that says: you are us, you belong, and you are worthy of the same rights as everyone else. This bill supports amending the Civil Rights Act to ensure that trans people have the same rights and protections as all other Americans. It creates a level playing field where trans people no longer have to fight tooth and nail to get the same treatment as their cisgender friends.”
The resolution for House and the Senate reads:
“Recognizing that it is the duty of the federal government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender and nonbinary people under the law and ensure their access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security.”
Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization that collects data on anti-trans legislation from the hyper-local level to the floor of the U.S. Senate, found that in 2025, 1,022 measures were proposed across the country to restrict the rights of trans Americans — from health care removals to bathroom bans.
Markey directly called out those lawmakers for what he described as discriminatory actions taken against trans Americans who, as he pointed out, are fighting for rights that everyone else is inherently given.
“Trump and MAGA Republicans have used the power of government to spread fear and hate across our country. They have tried to ban lifesaving and medically necessary health care, strip anti-discrimination protections, and turn trans lives into political talking points for their benefit. Well, we have a message for them: we are louder, we are stronger, and we are not going anywhere. We’re in this fight for the long term,” the Massachusetts senator said.
Jacobs, a co-chair of the Transgender Equality Task Force within the Congressional Equality Caucus, also spoke at the event.
“Trans Americans are being targeted just for being who they are — by laws and court decisions that try to erase them from classrooms, from courts and fields, from health care and public life. These attacks aren’t about safety or fairness,” Jacobs said. “They’re about hatred and instilling fear. And we know how quickly fear can warp into suspicion and violence with deadly consequences.”
In addition to lawmakers, trans Americans and supporters spoke.
Olivia Hunt from Advocates for Trans Equality, LaLa Zannell from the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as three additional people who have been actively harmed by the ongoing wave of anti-trans legislation, shared their stories.
Hunt emphasized the staggeringly high number of anti-trans bills being introduced in statehouses across the country — despite trans adults making up less than 1 percent of the population, according to the Williams Institute’s 2025 data.
“Since 2020, thousands of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been introduced in statehouses across the country,” Hunt said. “It’s a veritable tidal wave of political bullying disguised as legislation, and most of these bills specifically target transgender and nonbinary people — especially trans youth and their families. This is a moment that demands action.”
Hunt, who is trans, helps trans people in D.C. obtain legal documents that match their gender identity — something the Trump-Vance administration has stopped.
“Trans youth deserve to be protected by their government. They shouldn’t have to be protected from their government,” she said. “It’s long past time that our federal laws reflect and protect the reality and dignity of all people. Trans people have always existed — we are your neighbors, your family members, your community — and we belong.”
Zannell, who spoke proudly about her trans identity, explained why the bill is necessary and how it would protect trans people in all facets of their lives.
“I stand here as an unapologetic Black trans woman who has led this movement for over a decade to get us to moments like this. The reintroduction of the Trans Bill of Rights will aim to protect access to gender-affirming care, prevent discrimination in housing and public spaces, and preserve legal recognition,” Zannell said. “My hope is that this affirms our government’s duty to protect all trans and nonbinary people.”
The Transgender Bill of Rights is cosponsored in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
In the U.S. House of Representatives, the resolution is led by Jayapal, co-led by Jacobs and U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), with nearly 100 other representatives signing on as co-sponsors.
“To all trans people across the United States: you are seen, you are valued, and you are loved,” said Markey. “And I want you to know there are people who will fight for you every single day on the floor of the House and Senate to win those rights for you.”
Senegal
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Popular journalist and musician among those taken into custody
Senegalese police have charged a dozen men with committing “unnatural acts.”
The New York Times reported Pape Cheikh Diallo, a popular television reporter, and Djiby Dramé, a musician, are among the men who authorities arrested. They appeared in court in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, on Monday.
Le Soleil, a Senegalese newspaper, reported authorities arrested the men on Feb. 6 “for intentional transmission of HIV, unnatural acts, criminal conspiracy, and endangering others.” The newspaper further notes the men have been placed in “pre-trial detention.”
Senegal is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.
Police in Kaolack, a town that is roughly 135 miles southeast of Dakar, in 2015 arrested 11 people who allegedly engaged in same-sex sexual acts during “a celebration of a gay marriage.” The National Assembly in 2021 rejected a bill that would have further criminalized homosexuality in the country.
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. will be moderating a panel at Dupont Underground on Sunday. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
Top Democrats re-introduce trans bill of rights
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Meet D.C.’s Most Eligible Queer Singles
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
