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Immigration officer accused of trans bias
Source:
WashingtonBlade online
http://www.washblade.com/2005/12-16/news/national/trans-immigrant.cfmBy ANDREW KEEGAN
Friday, December 16, 2005
A government immigration official inappropriately questioned a transgender woman who was applying for citizenship about her gender identity and demanded a letter verifying her original sex, an advocacy group assisting the Ecuadorian native has charged.
But a spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services contends there was nothing improper about the interview.
“The first thing an immigration officer must do is establish an identity and gender is a key issue,” said Shawn Saucier, a CIS spokesperson. “If that officer was expecting a male and was faced with a female, the line of questioning would be to learn as much as possible.”
The transgender applicant, who asked to be identified only as “Gloria” for fear that the government would deny her citizenship request, said the incident took place at the Garden Hills, N.Y., Citizenship & Immigration Services on Nov. 3.
“After waiting an hour with other applicants, a female employee called five names,” Gloria, 30, said in an interview conducted with the help of translator Victoria Neilson, legal director of Immigration Equality. “I recognized my male name and answered — she looked surprised and told me to go to another office and wait.”
What started out as the most exciting day of her life, applying to become an American citizen, soon became a terrifying day, according to Gloria.
“A man came in and he, too, looked surprised,” Gloria said. “I expected the first question to be what country I came from, but he asked why I was this way. I told him this is how I feel in my soul — I am a woman.”
When the immigration officer asked if she had a boyfriend, to which the answer was yes, Gloria said the employee asked why she had a boyfriend when she was a man.
“When I told him his questions were making me feel bad, he said, ‘I get to ask the questions, not you,'” she said.
Gloria said she asked for a supervisor at this point, only to be told by the immigration officer that no one was available to see her.
“I was very scared and decided just to answer his questions,” Gloria said.
After Gloria passed the civics exam, the immigration officer asked if she was employed, Gloria said.
“I told him I just finished cosmetology school but didn’t have a job yet,” she said. “He asked me how I supported myself and I told him my mother. He told me I had to have a letter from my mother to confirm her supporting me and she had to refer to me as her son, or he would deny the application.”
Since she began dressing as a woman at age 12, Gloria said her mother has accepted her as a daughter.
Gloria is taking hormones and has undergone breast augmentation surgery but has not had a genital reassignment procedure.
Saucier, the CIS spokesperson, said his investigation revealed “two different stories.” While he regrets the applicant felt uncomfortable, the officer’s questioning was acceptable, Saucier said.
“If you take away the emotional response, the questions are valid,” he said.
Saucier also said that a supervisor was consulted during the interview.
‘Offensive’ demand?
Gloria obtained a green card at the age of 18 to come to the United States to live with relatives. She was able to renew the temporary resident card without having to appear before the immigration service, but said she now wants to become a full U.S. citizen.
Immigration Equality, which assists gay and transgender immigration applicants, is asking for Gloria’s application to be approved without a referral from her mother as a male. According to Neilson, Gloria’s mother did provide confirmation of supporting her daughter.
“A naturalization officer has no business telling a mother how to refer to her child,” Neilson said. “It’s not relevant to her case, and it’s offensive for him to make such a demand.”
Immigration Equality sent a letter to Linda Pritchett, the site supervisor where Gloria was interviewed, on Nov. 30 but has not received a reply, Neilson said.
Chris Daley, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, also criticized the immigration officer’s alleged actions.
“What is particularly frustrating about this incident is that a memo was issued by the service in 2004 that made it very clear that all transgender immigrants are to be treated with respect and dignity,” Daley said. “However, too few service employees know about the memo or have been trained on how to be respectful.” -
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