Victoria Arellano
Encyclopedia
Victoria Arellano was a Mexican
immigrant to the United States
who died from complications of AIDS
while in the custody of the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While officials from ICE have refused to comment on Arellano's death, advocates for immigrants, AIDS patients, and the LGBT
community have decried the lack of provision of medical care as unjust and discriminatory.
Victoria Arellano was born in Mexico and came to the United States as a child. Although her natally-assigned sex
was male
, her gender identity
was female
. She took the name Victoria as part of her transgender
ed identity.
After contracting HIV
, she was prescribed bactrim
, later switching to dapasone. Both medications were daily antibiotics. Three years prior to her being detained, doctors at a Los Angeles
free clinic described her as "asymptomatic". Her condition began deteriorating in May 2007, when, after being detected entering the country illegally for the second time, she was detained at a facility
in San Pedro, California, she was denied her medication and medical attention.
Arellano was cared for by inmates at the facility, who took turns taking her to the bathroom and brought her cool towels. She was transported to the infirmary on July 13, 2007 and prescribed amoxicillin
. She was unable to keep the drugs down and began vomiting blood.
Eighty detainees protest
ed the denial of her treatment, chanting "Hospital" and ignoring an order to get in line for the night's head count. She was transported to a hospital in San Pedro, but was returned to the facility within twenty-four hours. Again, she was debilitated by vomiting and diarrhea, and again transported to the hospital, this time to the intensive care unit of Little Company of Mary Hospital in San Pedro. She was handcuffed to her bunk and her door was guarded by two immigration agents. She died on July 20.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
immigrant to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who died from complications of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
while in the custody of the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While officials from ICE have refused to comment on Arellano's death, advocates for immigrants, AIDS patients, and the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community have decried the lack of provision of medical care as unjust and discriminatory.
Victoria Arellano was born in Mexico and came to the United States as a child. Although her natally-assigned sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
was male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
, her gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
was female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
. She took the name Victoria as part of her transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
ed identity.
After contracting HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, she was prescribed bactrim
Co-trimoxazole
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole or co-trimoxazole is a sulfonamide antibiotic combination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, in the ratio of 1 to 5, used in the treatment of a variety of bacterial infections.The name co-trimoxazole is the British Approved Name, and has been marketed worldwide...
, later switching to dapasone. Both medications were daily antibiotics. Three years prior to her being detained, doctors at a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
free clinic described her as "asymptomatic". Her condition began deteriorating in May 2007, when, after being detected entering the country illegally for the second time, she was detained at a facility
Immigration detention
Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in detention until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to...
in San Pedro, California, she was denied her medication and medical attention.
Arellano was cared for by inmates at the facility, who took turns taking her to the bathroom and brought her cool towels. She was transported to the infirmary on July 13, 2007 and prescribed amoxicillin
Amoxicillin
Amoxicillin , formerly amoxycillin , and abbreviated amox, is a moderate-spectrum, bacteriolytic, β-lactam antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections caused by susceptible microorganisms. It is usually the drug of choice within the class because it is better absorbed, following oral...
. She was unable to keep the drugs down and began vomiting blood.
Eighty detainees protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
ed the denial of her treatment, chanting "Hospital" and ignoring an order to get in line for the night's head count. She was transported to a hospital in San Pedro, but was returned to the facility within twenty-four hours. Again, she was debilitated by vomiting and diarrhea, and again transported to the hospital, this time to the intensive care unit of Little Company of Mary Hospital in San Pedro. She was handcuffed to her bunk and her door was guarded by two immigration agents. She died on July 20.