LGBTQ news and entertainment
In a highly unusual move, CBS News pulled an announced segment from Sunday’s installment of “60 Minutes” that delves into the treatment of Venezuelan men deported by Team Trump to a brutal El Salvadoran prison. Continue reading “CBS News Pulls ’60 Minutes’ Report On El Salvadoran Prison”
Some news items you might have missed:
• Buzzfeed: Actress Laverne Cox revealed she dated a MAGA cop until last year, and people are not taking it super well.
• The Advocate: Caving to pressure from the Trump administration, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Continue reading “Laverne Cox’s MAGA Ex + David Geffen Divorce Gets Ugly + More”
The Trump administration reportedly sent a request to the government of El Salvador inquiring about the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported there last month. But everyone isn’t so sure how sincere the U.S. request actually was. Continue reading “Did El Salvador Refuse White House Request To Return Deported Migrant?”
After days in El Salvador, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says he finally got a face-to-face meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia (above), who was wrongfully deported last month. Continue reading “Sen. Chris Van Hollen Has Face-To-Face Meeting With Abrego Garcia”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) traveled to El Salvador today to see or speak to his Maryland constituent who was wrongly deported there but was turned away. Continue reading “Sen. Chris Van Hollen Denied Request To See Wrongly Deported Man”
Some news items you might have missed: • Washington Post: An 11-year veteran high school teacher in Florida lost her job for calling a student by their preferred name without parental permission. No malicious intent – just a teacher trying to be respectful of a student. More than 53K people have signed a petition in support of the teacher. Continue reading “Teacher Fired For Using Student’s Preferred Name + More News”
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador declared he would not return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States, saying it would be akin to smuggling “a terrorist” into the U.S. Tthe Trump administration has already admitted in federal court that the deportation of Mr. Abrego was an “administrative error.” Continue reading “El Salvador Prez Refuses To Return Wrongly Deported Man”
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| Camila was murdered after being deported back to El Salvador (image via Aspidh Arcoiris Trans) |
A transgender woman, who came to the United States from El Salvador, has been murdered after she was deported from the U.S. back to her native country.
The woman, who went by the names Camila and Aurora, sought asylum in the U.S., but according to the Washington Blade, she was deported when immigration authorities didn’t believe she had received threats of violence in her home country.
A Salvadoran transgender advocacy group, Asociación Aspidh Arcoiris Trans, told the Blade that Camila/Aurora had gone missing near the end of January.
After a search of local hospitals, she was located in Rosales National Hospital in San Salvador with multiple injuries. She passed away on February 3.
Camila is now the second trans woman murdered in El Salvador this month.
On February 8, a trans woman named Lolita was murdered with a machete in Sonsonate.
Neither murders have been classified as a hate crime since both died in hospitals without mentioning being victims of violence.
In 2015, El Salvador amended its penal code to include enhanced punishment for crimes based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation. But local activists say the judicial system is slow to investigate such crimes.
“It is unfortunate that although we have articles in the penal code that (allow for the classification of) crimes committed against trans people as hate crimes, they are not put into practice,” Tatiana Molina, an LGBTI activist and Miss Trans El Salvador 2018, told the Blade. “Such is the case of all the crimes that have occurred in recent years and specifically the cases of Camila and Lolita. That is why we are demanding justice and the prompt investigation and prosecution of these cases.”
El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world. For transgender people, gang violence, as well as threats from police and family members, has spurred many to migrate from the Central American country to the U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have confirmed to the Blade that 45 transgender women are being housed at a detention center in Texas, including several from El Salvador.
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly saw a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage fail miserably by a vote of 19-65.
From On Top Magazine:
According to Spanish news agency EFE, only 19 out of 84 lawmakers on Friday voted in favor of the ban.
The measure, which cleared the chamber in 2012, defines marriage as between a man and a woman and their children. It also seeks to prohibit El Salvador from recognizing the foreign marriages of gay couples and bans gays from adopting children.
A constitutional amendment requires the approval of two consecutive legislatures; a simple majority (43 votes) during the first reading followed by a supermajority (56).
El Salvador is the only Central American country that allows gays to serve openly in its armed forces.
(via JMG)