Roxsana Hernandez Rodriguez was a transgender Honduran woman who died this spring at the age of 33, while she was being held in an ICE detention facility. Rodriguez was traveling with the Caravan of Migrants and was trying to reach the United States, where she intended to apply for asylum. After her death, human rights groups raised questions about how, exactly, she had passed away. The Daily Beast reported that her autopsy, obtained months after her death, proved that she had been beaten while in detention.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Autopsy Report Said Hernandez Had ‘Deep Bruises’ on her Body & Signs of Blunt-Force Trauma
The Daily Beast reported that a forensic pathologist named Kris Sperry conducted the autopsy on Hernandez ater she died at Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The report said that there was clear evidence of physical abuse. There was “deep bruising” on Hernandez’s hands and on her abdomen. There was also evidence of blunt-force trauma which Sperry said was “indicative of blows, and/or kicks, and possible strikes with blunt object.”
The autopsy does not make it clear how long ago Hernandez would have been beaten and kicked. It’s not clear whether this happened to her while she was in ICE custody, or when she was being held by a private detention site.
Hernandez arrived at the U.S. border on May 9 and asked for asylum. She was detained, as is common practice for asylum seekers while they wait to have their case evaluated. She was held at a privately operated detention center for five days before being transferred to an ICE facility.
2. The Autopsy Said Hernandez Died of Dehydration and Complications Related to HIV
Hernandez had HIV, which made her vulnerable to any form of infection of illness. Sperry’s autopsy found that she likely died from “severe complications of dehydration superimposed upon HIV infection.” The autopsy noted that the staff at the detention center had probably neglected Hernandez, failing to treat her for her dehydration: “According to observations of other detainees who were with Ms. Hernández Rodriguez, the diarrhea and vomiting episodes persisted over multiple days with no medical evaluation or treatment, until she was gravely ill,” Sperry wrote.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, ICE denied that Hernandez was abused or mistreated while in custody. The statement read,
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot speak to the validity of the private autopsy cited by The Daily Beast; however, allegations that she was abused in ICE custody are false,” said Danielle Bennett, a spokesperson for the agency. “A review of Hernandez’s death conducted by ICE Health Service Corps medical professionals confirmed that she suffered from a history of untreated HIV. At no time did the medical personnel treating Ms. Hernandez at Cibola General Hospital or Lovelace Medical Center raise any issues of suspected physical abuse.
“ICE takes very seriously the health, safety and welfare of those in our care, including those who come into ICE custody with prior medical conditions or who have never before received appropriate medical care. Any death that happens in ICE custody is a cause for concern, and the agency will continue its full review of this case according to standard protocols.”
3. Human Rights Groups Started Demanding an Investigation After Rodriguez Died in Custody
Back in May, the Human Rights Campaign said that Hernandez’s death raised “serious questions” about the treatment of LGBTQ individuals in ICE custody. The group called on ICE to carry out a thorough investigation into Hernandez’s death. The group said that unfortunately, Hernandez’s case was not unusual — they said that LGBTQ people tend to be the most vulnerable while in detention.
HRC wrote that “LGBTQ immigrants are detained twice as long as other immigrants and also face lengthy stays in solitary confinement despite ICE regulations that stipulate it as a last resort.”
4. Hernandez Came to the US Because, She Said, ‘They Kill Trans People in Honduras’
Hernandez said that she was applying for asylum because she had experienced intense violence and discrimination in her native Honduras. Human Rights Campaign wrote that this is, unfortunately, typical of the experiences of many transgender people in Central America. The group wrote, “being LGBTQ substantially increases vulnerability to violence, with transgender individuals facing the highest risk. Neither El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala have laws protecting people from violence or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
5. Hernandez Said She Contracted HIV After Being Gang-Raped by Members of MS-13
Hernandez told Buzzfeed that she had left Honduras because she was afraid for her life. She said that she had been raped by members of the vicious MS-13 gang and that that was how she contracted HIV. She said that one day, she was on her way home when a group of gang member started yelling at her, “We don’t want you in this neighborhood, you fucking f*****.” Then, she said, they raped her.
“Four of them raped me and as a result I got HIV,” Hernandez told BuzzFeed News. “Trans people in my neighborhood are killed and chopped into pieces, then dumped inside potato bags.”