A is for Alien

I wish I was writing about ET but I'm not.

I recently attended the Creating Change conference and sat in several sessions about federal detention centers that are packed with people who are undocumented. I was learning about the how transgender folks are treated, but learned so much.

I left each session horrified. And angry.

Regardless of how you feel about immigration, how we treat human beings in the federal detention centers is abhorrent.

First, when one is brought in they are given a nine-digit number. The number begins with an A, which is for Alien.

Seriously.

Alien 987654321 has a visitor.

Alien 123456789 is not breathing.

I also learned that on any given day there are 75 transgender folks in a federal detention center. Their gender identity is not honored and they are put with what to them are members of the opposite sex. Imagine a trans woman being put with men.

Yes, violence happens. And so does death.

I guess now is a good time to remind you that we are talking about human beings here. Just a few weeks before this conference I was telling readers about a Saudi blogger in jail and being beaten. Now I am asking you to consider what is happening right here.

I still have so much to learn.

I'll share what I learn with you. I hope you find this as interesting as I do and I hope it makes you as angry as it has made me. Then we can make change and be a voice for these voiceless brothers and sisters.

Thank you for reading.