Today the National Center for Transgender Equality will be delivering a petition to Capitol Hill which it hopes will add pressure to the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to strengthen protections for transgender and intersex detainees of the immigration system. Napolitano is set to enact a set of directives to help protect detainees that have fallen victim to sexual abuse. 
Because victims of sexual crimes in any form of incarceration are often those that are intersex, transgender or non-gender conforming, NCTE is calling on Secretary Napolitano to add provisions to protect detainees from retaliatory deportation, to increase access to existing types of legal status for survivors of abuse, and to prevent sexual abuse during detainee transportation. The group also wants facility staff to receive training on working with LGBTI people, and assurances that transgender and intersex detainees will be housed and searched based on their gender identity.
Make your voice heard! To sign the petition click here.