Rally for Roxsana Hernandez, the Transgender Immigrant Who Died in ICE Custody

Nearly a dozen protests are planned for Wednesday night as activists seek justice for Roxsana Hernandez, a 33-year-old transgender woman who died in ICE custody last month.

The backstory: Hernandez was one of the hundreds of asylum-seekers who took part in the migrant caravan from Central America last month. After being taken into custody at the U.S. border, Hernandez was placed in the transgender unit at the Cibola County Correctional Center, a detention facility in Milan, New Mexico.

Several days and two hospital trips later, Hernandez was declared dead. Authorities say the preliminary cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Action level: Happening TODAY

Activists are demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is held responsible for Hernandez’s death. Wednesday’s actions are part of a broader campaign to defund and dismantle the enforcement agency for its troubling record of human rights violations, particularly for LGBTQ immigrants held in detention.

Here's how you can get involved, from the smallest amount of effort to pounding the pavement in demand of change.

The absolute minimal amount of effort: Sign this petition calling on ICE to extend greater protections to LGBTQ immigrants.

This will take like five minutes: United We Dream has a script prepared for you to call up members of Congress and urge them to defund ICE.

Follow the signs: #JusticeforRoxsana, #DefundICE and #DismantleICE

🤑🤑🤑: MALDEF is accepting donations on the behalf of the group Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, which is organizing Wednesday’s protests.

HTH IRL: At least 10 rallies and vigils are planned for Wednesday night in honor of Hernandez.

Los Angeles, CA: Metropolitan Detention Center at 6 p.m.

Sacramento, CA: Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange (LLACE) at 6 p.m.

Astoria, OR: 8th Street by Post Office at 6 p.m.

Houston, TX: The Montrose Center at 6 p.m. 

Tucson, AZ: 420 S Main Ave at 6 p.m.

Phoenix, AZ: 2035 N Central Ave at 6 p.m.

Albuquerque, NM: Crick Avenue SE and Watson Drive SE at 12 p.m.

New York City, NY: Jacob K. Javits Federal Building at 6 p.m.

Philadelphia, PA: Trans Equity Project at 5 p.m. 

Atlanta, GA: United States Immigration Court at 7 p.m.