rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/breakthecage-stop-the-detention-deportation-of-lgbtq-immigrants?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-breakthecage-stop-the-detention-deportation-of-lgbtq-immigrants' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> United We Dream https://actionnetwork.org/groups/united-we-dream-members https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg Immigration detention is bad for America. It is expensive, inefficient, and unnecessary. More importantly, detention is unsafe for vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, children, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Transgender women are at particularly high risk of abuse in detention. Many LGBTQ detainees are asylum seekers looking for a safe place to call home. Of the 11 million undocumented people in the United States, more than 267,000 identify as LGBTQ. Many of these individuals fled to the U.S. to escape persecution and torture. Instead of finding safety, LGBTQ asylum seekers are placed in dangerous detention facilities.In those facilities, they must wait for weeks or months to see a judge that will decide their fate. While detention is hard on everyone, it is especially dangerous for LGBTQ people. Non-heterosexual men are 10 times more likely than the general population to experience abuse in detention. Trans women are 13 times more likely to experience sexual assault. Housing LGBTQ people in such deplorable conditions is wrong and impedes their ability to ask for asylum. In an attempt to keep LGBTQ people safe, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) often segregates them from other detainees. Segregation takes many forms, from complete isolation in solitary confinement to group holding cells. In both of these cases, LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, are easy targets for harassment and abuse from other detainees or staff. Segregation is not the solution. ICE cannot detain LGBTQ people safely, so it should not detain them at all. The U.S. government must act now to: Release LGBTQ individuals from immigration detention Stop housing transgender women in male detention facilities. Stop deportations of LGBTQ individuals to areas where they are not safe. Ensure transparency and accountability for cases involving LGBTQ immigrants Add your voice to #BreakTheCage and #EndTransDetention. Sign the petition for #LGBTQLiberation and help keep our community safe. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/breakthecage-stop-the-detention-deportation-of-lgbtq-immigrants