Nicoll Hernandez PolancoListen
Nicoll Hernandez-Polanco is in the process of receiving immigration permits and she “can’t wait to get a job” in Tucson after having received asylum from the U.S. government.
The 23-year old transgender woman fled her native Guatemala after being the victim of violence and discrimination because of her gender identity, she said.
She presented herself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the port of entry seeking asylum and was taken to an immigration detention facility.
Hernandez-Polanco spent about six months in a Department of Homeland Security all-male detention center in Florence before being granted asylum in April.
“I was surprised,” she said. “I’m proud that I fought for my case and for the rights of those in the transgender community.”
Less than 6 percent of asylum grants went to Central Americans in fiscal year 2014, Executive Office for Immigration Review statistics showed.
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