{"id":35775,"date":"2025-04-20T14:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T14:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/35775\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T14:18:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T14:18:20","slug":"li-ann-sanchez-a-trans-and-indigenous-activist-supporting-lgbtq-immigrants-in-the-united-states-we-are-living-in-a-new-era-of-transphobia-and-xenophobia-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/35775\/","title":{"rendered":"Li Ann S\u00e1nchez, a trans and Indigenous activist supporting LGBTQ+ immigrants in the United States: \u2018We are living in a new era of transphobia and xenophobia\u2019 | U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

Li Ann S\u00e1nchez was born twice. The first time was 37 years ago, in the confines of the Chinanteca region, between the Mexican states of Veracruz and Oaxaca<\/a>. Her second birth took place in Mississippi, after finishing a drag show in which she performed as Selena. The queer and African American audience dubbed her the \u201cstar\u201d of the place. Since then, she\u2019s been known as Li Ann \u201cEstrella\u201d S\u00e1nchez (\u201cestrella\u201d meaning \u201cstar\u201d in English).<\/p>\n

Throughout her life, the Mexican activist has had to overcome the triple discrimination of being an immigrant, a trans woman and Indigenous. In 2018, she founded Communidad Estrella, translated as \u201cthe star community.\u201d This not-for-profit organization is dedicated to defending the rights of undocumented migrants<\/a> \u2014 regardless of race or nationality \u2014 with a focus on the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

Following a landmark ruling in the state of Georgia, S\u00e1nchez obtained asylum status \u2014 becoming the first trans woman to receive it \u2014 and legal residency. This was after more than a decade of irregular status in the U.S. Between 2009 and 2010 (she doesn\u2019t remember the exact date), she was detained for 30 days for possessing hormones that she had bought at an illegal pharmacy.<\/p>\n

Li Ann has also been a sex worker and a victim of human-trafficking networks<\/a> operating along the border. \u201cIn Canc\u00fan, when I wasn\u2019t even of legal age, I met a woman who [lured me]. She told me, \u2018You\u2019re going to the United States, you\u2019ll be taking care of an elderly woman and you\u2019ll make a lot of money.\u2019 I don\u2019t even know how they got me across. I woke up in Texas, locked in a room without seeing sunlight […] I had sex with other young men at gunpoint. I don\u2019t know how to describe this evil,\u201d she confesses.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, she was able to escape and returned to Mexico. But her stay was brief: just a few months later, she crossed the border again. At the time, Barack Obama\u2019s second presidential term was beginning. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids <\/a>multiplied in many parts of the country. Under the 287(g) program, which establishes cooperation between local police officers and immigration agents, she was detained for the second time, with the added aggravating factor of having failed to comply with a prior court summons, which was on her record. Such an offense is considered to be a felony.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany immigrants make the same mistake, because we\u2019re unfamiliar with the American judicial system,\u201d she notes. She was incarcerated for a year. At the Atlanta City Detention Center \u2014 the first facility where she was held \u2014 they didn\u2019t know whether to place her with men or women. \u201cThey criminalized me for being a trans woman. They dressed me in red, like the most dangerous criminals. They locked me up in solitary confinement, the famous \u2018hole.\u2019 They performed horrific checkups on me; they broke my ear and they kept me on medication, like a mentally ill person. I was on the verge of being sexually assaulted, but I fought back,\u201d she recalls, describing the abuse she suffered during her detention. Unlike similar facilities in, say, California \u2014 which have rooms or cells exclusively for the trans community \u2014 Georgia doesn\u2019t offer these types of considerations for the LGBTQ+ population. Nor do the state facilities offer hormone therapy<\/a>. \u201cNo undocumented person [receives it] and that\u2019s one of our biggest demands,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

\"LiLi Ann S\u00e1nchez at the Comunidad Estrella facility in Atlanta, Georgia.
\nMegan Varner<\/p>\n

After taking on her case, lawyers from Immigration Equality managed to secure her freedom. During the six years it took to obtain asylum and form her own organization, she was involved with other groups that are dedicated to informing the detained migrant community about their rights, reaching out to them in shelters and detention centers. She also succeeded in helping Mexican trans immigrants in the United States get their birth certificates rectified. As a result, each individual can be recognized by their own name and gender identity. \u201cI left prison with an enormous thirst for justice, hoping that no one else would be locked up in those unhealthy, inhumane conditions, suffering physical and emotional abuse. Those centers must close,\u201d she affirms. \u201cFor years, I carried out my activism with an ankle bracelet that allowed them to track my every move, under the threat of deportation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House<\/a> was followed by his signing of executive orders against inclusion policies in the federal government and gender variance, resulting in the denial of the existence of trans people. This has been a setback for S\u00e1nchez and her community. In fact, attacks against this group \u2014 far from decreasing \u2014 continue to grow. According to the Trans Murder Monitoring research project, 350 trans and gender-diverse people were murdered worldwide between October of 2023 and September of 2024: 70% of these deaths occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, in the United States, hate crimes increased from 31 to 41 during this same period.<\/p>\n

Question. <\/b>Under this new administration, what are the conditions for organizations that are working to defend the rights of the trans and migrant communities?<\/p>\n

Answer.<\/b> We\u2019re experiencing a new era of transphobia and xenophobia. We know that all the organizations that work on behalf of immigrants are being investigated. To protect ourselves, we\u2019ve decided to [take down] our website. We\u2019re also being cautious when making statements. When we go out to protest, we\u2019re covering our faces with masks, sunglasses and hats. We\u2019re also not sharing our events on social media. But we continue the fight.<\/p>\n

Q. <\/b>Did you pause your tours to educate the migrant and LGBTQ+ communities about their rights?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Through the efforts of many organizations, we\u2019re keeping the community well-informed\u2026 but ICE agents<\/a> are using tactics that are leaving everyone defenseless. They wait for you on street corners, no matter for how long. They stay there until they catch you, either when you\u2019re coming home from work, or whenever you least expect it. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re monitoring [people] by phone to know what time they may arrive home or wherever they\u2019re going, but that\u2019s what\u2019s happening in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Do you have any records of arrests and deportations of LGBTQ+ immigrants that have occurred in recent weeks?<\/p>\n

A. <\/b>They\u2019ve taken two. A Mexican woman arrived [in the U.S.] with CBP One<\/a>. They came to her home, almost breaking down her door. She didn\u2019t show up for an immigration court date, so they arrested her. While she was detained, she told me: \u201cThey came after me and I don\u2019t want to be in this country anymore.\u201d So, she signed her deportation form. We also recorded the case of a Honduran woman who was taken while she was shopping. She also decided to leave.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> For many LGBTQ+ migrants, returning to their countries of origin poses a risk to their lives\u2026<\/p>\n

A. <\/b>That\u2019s right. Sadly, this was the case for one of our colleagues, Melissa N\u00fa\u00f1ez. She lived between New York, Tennessee and Atlanta. She was a sex worker. She requested permission to travel to her country, Honduras (S\u00e1nchez doesn\u2019t specify her immigration status). When she returned [to the U.S.], she was denied entry due to Title 42 <\/a>and was deported. A week or two later, she was murdered, in circumstances that are still unclear. [Members of] the LGBTQ+ community [who are] in this country as refugees cannot be expelled.<\/p>\n

Q. <\/b>Despite your activism and the protection afforded to you by your asylum status, are you afraid to go out on the streets now?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Yes, because executive orders are constantly changing. It all depends on how the president reacts. Maybe tomorrow he\u2019ll decide that all trans people should cut their hair. What do I know?<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> You\u2019ve fought for the closure of migrant detention centers, but Trump\u2019s immigration agenda is incentivizing them…<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> I\u2019m part of a coalition of organizations that remains focused on achieving this goal. Millions of dollars are being invested in detention centers where human rights are violated. And I say this because I\u2019ve experienced it. The government is paying $110 a day for each immigrant who\u2019s detained in these private prisons. What\u2019s happening is that these companies are getting rich<\/a>. We\u2019re just a business for them. When you investigate a little about who are behind these companies, you\u2019ll find that they\u2019re white people who hold power in the United States. Many of them supported Donald Trump. All of this is planned.<\/p>\n

\"LiLi Ann S\u00e1nchez poses next to the mural honoring her work on behalf of LGBTQ immigrants, on Buford Highway in Atlanta, Georgia.
\nMegan Varner<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Amid these circumstances, what programs are continuing at Comunidad Estrella?<\/p>\n

A. <\/b>We continue with our Salud y Vida program (\u201cHealth and Life\u201d), which addresses everything related to HIV awareness, as well as hormone replacement therapy. Vivamos en Paz (\u201cLet\u2019s live in peace\u201d) is another project to prevent and address sexual assault or violence, bullying and more. We also promote the labor rights of the trans community.<\/p>\n

We have a community center, which belonged to our co-founder, where we can meet and offer various types of assistance [to LGBTQ+ migrants]. We also continue to visit migrant shelters and detention centers to help [individuals] with whatever they need, including legal and psychological counseling. We don\u2019t provide this assistance directly, but we serve as a bridge with other organizations. It\u2019s a networking effort.<\/p>\n

Q. <\/b>Are you afraid that you\u2019ll lose the aid or funding required to operate for the next four years?<\/p>\n

A. <\/b>We receive funding from larger organizations and have applied for federal funding. In this last [round of applications], we can no longer use the words trans, queer, immigrant<\/a>… we have to be resilient.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> What\u2019s your greatest wish since you started this fight?<\/p>\n

A. <\/b>[Getting my] U.S. citizenship.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Really?<\/p>\n

A. <\/b>I wish I didn\u2019t have to fight for everything. To live without having to flee or be careful about what I say. Without having to suspend my organization\u2019s website, review the annual work plan, the brochures… my greatest dream is to live with dignity.<\/p>\n

\"LiLi Ann S\u00e1nchez.Megan Varner<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Li Ann S\u00e1nchez was born twice. The first time was 37 years ago, in the confines of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[20661,6904,32,2307,15812,20660,20659,20658,49,978,659,14736],"class_list":{"0":"post-35775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-barack-obama","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-georgia","12":"tag-ice","13":"tag-latinos","14":"tag-mississippi","15":"tag-oaxaca","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa","19":"tag-washington-d-c"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114370727360056598","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}