U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio, a President Joe Biden appointee, has ordered the release of a Mexican transgender migrant detained at an all-male Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility after ruling that her detention violated due process rights. The migrant, identified as ‘O-J-M,’ was arrested outside a Portland courtroom in early June and transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where she was held for over 40 days without being notified of her location or legal status. Her attorneys argue that her placement in a male facility violated her rights and that ICE failed to provide proper procedural safeguards.
O-J-M, a 24-year-old transgender woman, was arrested in Portland after a judge approved the government’s request to dismiss her asylum case. She was then transferred to Tacoma, where she was held without access to legal counsel or information about her status. Her attorneys, representing her through the Innovation Law Lab, filed a habeas petition to challenge the detention, asserting that the failure to notify her of her location and legal status violated due process under asylum case protocols.
The judge’s ruling emphasized that ICE’s failure to provide timely and specific information about O-J-M’s whereabouts and legal status constituted a violation of fundamental procedural fairness. In asylum cases, due process requires that attorneys be able to locate their client and that ICE notify or justify sudden detentions and transfers. The judge also demanded to know why it was deemed immediately necessary to transfer her to a male facility. O-J-M’s attorneys, including Stephen Manning, stated that she faced threats of violence due to her gender identity and sexual orientation, which led to her fleeing to the U.S. in September 2023.
O-J-M has no criminal record in the U.S. and has regularly checked in with ICE as required. Oregon’s sanctuary laws prevent the state from maintaining long-term immigration detention facilities, and the nearest immigration detention center to Portland is the Tacoma facility. Her attorneys argued that her detention in a male facility was a direct result of President Trump’s anti-transgender executive order and that the government’s handling of her case has exacerbated the trauma she experienced.
The ruling comes amid ongoing debates about immigration policies and the treatment of vulnerable groups within the U.S. immigration system. O-J-M’s case highlights the legal and human rights challenges faced by transgender asylum seekers and underscores the need for procedural fairness and legal representation in immigration proceedings. The judge’s decision serves as a critical reminder of the importance of due process in protecting the rights of asylum seekers, particularly those from marginalized communities.