Trans organizer detained by ICE denied hormone therapy, medical neglect
Apr 22, 2026·Location: Phoenix, AZ
Country of origin: Venezuela

Karla Sáenz, a 26-year-old transgender woman from Venezuela and organizer with Trans Queer Pueblo, was detained by ICE on March 9 during a routine immigration check-in at a USCIS office in Phoenix. She was held for a month at Eloy Detention Center in a men's unit, where she was denied hormone therapy, unable to shower for a week, and subjected to verbal abuse and medical neglect by staff. A federal judge ordered her release in April, finding her detention arbitrary and violating her due process rights.
Timeline
Sources
- After a month in ICE custody, this trans Phoenix organizer is fighting for a dying detainee
- lgbtqnation.com
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detains Queer Organizer
lookoutnews.org·Mar 28, 2026·archived copy
- Phoenix woman with leukemia getting sicker in ICE lockup, partner says
phoenixnewtimes.com·Jul 3, 2025·archived copy
- eu.timestelegram.com
- ‘She’s dying inside Eloy’: Community demands that ICE release Phoenix resident with leukemia
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