"A San Francisco drag queen has been released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after being detained for three months, and granted asylum. Hilary Rivers was released on 20 September after being arrested by ICE agents outside an immigration court on 26 June, a day after competing at the annual Miss and Mr Safe Latino pageant. The drag queen spoke to El Tecolote and 48 Hills about the violence she endured while in detention, and about her fight for freedom."
""A few days before my court date, friends warned me not to appear because people were being picked up," Rivers, who was born in El Salvador and raised in Guatemala, said. "But I wanted to do things right. I knew if I didn't show up, I could get an automatic deportation order. So, I went to court with my lawyer.""
Hilary Rivers, a San Francisco drag performer born in El Salvador and raised in Guatemala, was arrested by ICE outside an immigration court on 26 June, a day after a pageant. Rivers reports that ICE agents grabbed, shackled and removed her despite her lawyer's presence. She spent three months at the Golden State Annex detention centre in McFarland, alleging inadequate protection, harassment and sexual violence, and poor conditions including cold, lack of seating and overcrowding. After release on 20 September, Rivers was granted asylum but returned to San Francisco having lost housing, documents and belongings, and now seeks to rebuild and advocate for others.
Read at PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news
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