Transgender Women Can Now Be Housed In Women's Facilities Under New Immigration Rules

New guidelines announced on Monday will allow transgender women to be housed in women’s immigrant detention facilities, a move long sought by activists.

Jennicet Gutiérrez interrupts President Obama at the White House, calling for an end to deportations of undocumented immigrant and better treatment of transgender detainees.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

U.S. immigration officials on Monday announced that transgender detainees will now be able to be housed with the population that matches their own gender identity, a move aimed at better protecting a population that is more vulnerable to sex abuse while in detention.

The changes, outlined in an 18-page memo, will take effect at facilities over time as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees are trained under the new system.

"We want to make sure our employees have the tools and resources available to learn more about how to interact with transgender individuals and ensure effective standards exist to house and care for them throughout the custody cycle," Thomas Homan, director ICE's Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations, said in a statement.

Under the new changes, ICE's data systems will also be updated to record a person's gender identity. Officers will also receive training to help identify someone's gender identity early on.

The memo comes days after an undocumented transgender woman interrupted President Obama at a reception for LGBT Pride Month to highlight the concerns of trans detainees.

Detained transgender women run the risk of being placed in centers with men or in isolation for extended periods of time under the guise of keeping them safe, advocates say.

ICE officials said the guidelines were not issued as a result of public pressure, but part of a years-long effort to reform the detention of transgender detainees.

Transgender women in men's prisons in California were 13 times more likely to be sexually abused as other inmates, according to a 2009 study by UC Irvine.

A 2013 investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that of every five victims of sexual abuse in detention, one is transgender.

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