Transgender woman avoids being deported to Mexico

A federal appeals court spared a transgender woman Thursday from being deported to Mexico, saying she was likely to face torture in her native country, where she was raped by police and soldiers before fleeing to California.

U.S. immigration courts had rejected Edin Avendano-Hernandez’s claim that she would face government-sanctioned abuse in Mexico, citing the nation’s recent efforts to protect gay rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and adoption in Mexico City.

U.S. government reports show that “police specifically target the transgender community for extortion and sexual favors, and that Mexico suffers from an epidemic of unsolved violent crimes against transgender persons,” said Judge Jacqueline Nguyen in the 3-0 ruling.

Laws recognizing same-sex marriage may do little to protect a transgender woman like Avendano-Hernandez from discrimination, police harassment, and violent attacks in daily life.

Transgender women are “a lot more visible” than most gays and lesbians and particularly vulnerable to abuse, Soni said, and the court recognized that “these communities are different and ought to be treated differently.”