Why Biden Administration’s Efforts to Deport Transgender Immigrant Are Not What They Seem – By Elura Nanos (Law & Crime) / Jan 17, 2023
The Biden administration opposed a transgender immigrant’s claim against deportation Tuesday when it warned the Supreme Court that a ruling in the immigrant’s favor could be “destabilizing” for the federal immigration system.
Though the case seems to be a departure from the administration’s usual championing of transgender rights in matters relating to protection from discrimination, it does not indicate a change in federal LGBTQ+ policy.
The petitioner in Santos-Zacaria v. Garland is known as Estrella Santos-Zacaria, though her legal name (which is the name used in all legal proceedings and documents) is Leon Santos-Zacaria. She a 34-year-old transgender woman who is attracted to men. Santos-Zacaria has asked multiple federal courts to stop the U.S. government from deporting her to her home country of Guatemala, where she says she would be subject to persecution because of her gender identity or sexual orientation.
