Rep. Al Green on Thursday delivered a press conference with LGBTQ groups in Houston, Texas, where he demanded that the Department of Homeland Security provide hormone treatments and transgender procedures to illegal aliens.
Greene joined forces with the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus and the Houston-based Montrose Center “to address the maltreatment of transgender immigrants in ICE detention facilities,” his office announced in a press release.
“We cannot allow people to be punished because of who they are. I have had a history of experiencing this type of punishment simply because the color of my skin,” Greene said to kick off the press conference.
At one point in the press conference, Greene read a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, claiming that illegal aliens in ICE detention facilities are facing “hazardous conditions” because of the lack of gender-affirming care.
He further warned that the lack of “specialized medical care” for so-called transgender illegal aliens “can cause physical and mental health complications” and that “transgender women (men) in detention facilities have been placed either with men or in solitary confinement.”
Daron Perez, who serves as the TransWellness Program Coordinator at The Montrose Center, also spoke and said that one individual, described as a “a transgender Latino community leader,” was denied access to testosterone treatments while in ICE custody.
“Transgender immigrants should not have to wonder: Will I receive my hormones? Will my identity be respected? Will I be safe? Will anybody care? Being detained should never mean losing your dignity, your safety, or access to necessary medical care,” he said.
Hellbound and Down 