"An ICE officer escorted Hilary Rivers through a crowd, forcing her hands behind her back. Rivers wore a green prison uniform, her head hanging down. Then, her big curly red mane started bouncing to a beat. The officer froze as Rivers danced around him, his hands clasped at his waist. She ripped off his vest and her uniform. Dollar bills rained down. The crowd went wild."
"Rivers was arrested during San Francisco's Pride Weekend in June 2025, one day after competing in the 30th annual Miss and Mr. Safe Latino pageant. On the day of the arrest, Rivers, who was born in El Salvador and raised in Guatemala, was attending a scheduled immigration appointment with her lawyer at San Francisco's immigration court. After a judge determined they would need more time to review the case, ICE agents approached her and shackled her hands and feet."
Hilary Rivers recreated her real immigration arrest as a drag performance, transforming a traumatic experience into a public act. She was arrested in June 2025 during San Francisco Pride Weekend, one day after competing in the Miss and Mr. Safe Latino pageant. Rivers attended a scheduled immigration court appointment when a judge requested more time and ICE agents shackled her. She was processed at the San Francisco ICE Field Office and detained at Golden State Annex in McFarland. Rivers reported discrimination, homophobia, physical and psychological abuse, and an attempted sexual assault while incarcerated. She lost housing, employment, and transportation, and her detention caused serious stress for her family. Rivers was granted asylum and released on September 20, 2025.
Read at The Oaklandside
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