The Trump administration now admits it “inadvertently” deported transgender woman Britania Uriostegui Rios to Mexico despite a court order barring her return. Uriostegui Rios was dropped across the border without her medications, money, or a phone. 

Now, Uriostegui Rios is suing to prevent being returned to the custody of the very agency that unlawfully expelled her.  Her case, one of several recent unlawful removals, underscores a growing pattern of the administration defying judicial protections as it pushes forward with mass deportations. 

As attorneys fight for her safe return and release from ICE custody, Uriostegui Rios remains in hiding in Mexico-  a country where transgender women face some of the world’s highest rates of violence- while the U.S. government seeks yet another country willing to accept her.

Read more about Britania’s story here.

Read more about her case here.