Overview
- An immigration judge in March ordered Britania Uriostegui Rios removed on criminal grounds but barred her deportation to Mexico after finding she would likely face torture or death because she is transgender.
- Justice Department emails filed in court say ICE "inadvertently" removed her to Mexico on November 11 and is "ready to remedy" the error by allowing voluntary reentry, in what CNN reports is at least the fifth such case this year.
- Her attorneys say she was flown from a Louisiana detention facility to Texas and taken into Mexico without money, her daily medications or a phone, and that they were not notified.
- The government says she will be placed back in ICE custody if she returns as it seeks a third country to accept her, after unsuccessful attempts since March to remove her to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.
- She is sheltering with family in Mexico and hiding her identity, with advocates warning the country is especially dangerous for trans people and her legal team suing to prevent her re-detention and secure supervised release.