US immigration officials will now allow transgender detainees to be with female inmates, in an attempt to give the former better detention conditions and protect them from sexual assault.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently released new guidelines for the treatment of transgender detainees, which gives them the choice of housing, clothing and even the pronoun to be used to refer to them based on the gender they identify with.
Detention staff will also be trained on how to deal with issues involving transgender women, including their hormone therapy and safety while being detained.
The agency also plans to come up with detention plans for transgender detainees, and to begin collating data on them.
ICE deputy assistant director of custody programs Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, who is also the national coordinator for issues related to gay, lesbian and transgender detainees, said these moves are meant to allow transgender individuals to live based on their gender identity even while in detention.
"ICE will allow for the placement of a transgender woman consistent with their gender identity, meaning that a transgender woman could be with biological females," said Lorenzen-Strait said.
Three years ago, the Department of Justice also issued similar rules for transgender inmates. However, until now, transgender inmates fall prey to violence in jails and prisons, most especially when they are detained based on their genitalia.
National Center for Transgender Equality policy adviser Raffi Freedman-Gurspan expressed hopes that ICE will be strict in enforcing the new guidelines for transgender inmates.
"This is all interesting on paper, to say the least, but we need to see how this actually plays out," Freedman-Gurspan said.
About 60 transgender detainees are currently under the supervision of ICE. Almost half of them are housed at a special unit for transgender women and gay men located in Santa Ana, California.
